Locals living near a disused toxic mining dump in Silvermines, Co Tipperary, yesterday rejected proposals to dispose of organic waste there.
The proposals, by mining company Mogul of Ireland Ltd, for the rehabilitation of the Gortmore Tailing Management Facility involved covering the surface of the 149-acre waste-mining facility with organic waste to prevent toxic dust blows containing lead, cadmium and other toxins.
Mr Michael Leamy, chairman of Gortmore Environmental Action Group, said the local community was "very disappointed" with the proposals.
"People living around here are horrified that sewage sludge and other organic wastes will be dumped here. This is the last thing that we want to see.
"We feel very strongly that the tailings pond, which is a very toxic site, should not be used to dump waste currently being placed in a landfill. The community of Silvermines has campaigned successfully in the past to ensure that another old mine site, at Garryard, was not used as a dump," Mr Leamy added.
Labour senator Ms Kathleen O'Meara, who is involved with community attempts to have the Silvermines area rehabilitated, said the Mogul proposals did not represent a solution to the Silvermines environmental problems.
"It is now against EU rules to spread sewage sludge on land - it must go to landfill.
"I am therefore not convinced that it would be good environmental practice to spread sewage sludge on the tailings," Senator O'Meara said.
Under a clause contained in Mogul's State mining lease, the company has contractual liability to rectify the lands affected by its working of State minerals.
Last year, the Department used a rehabilitation report, published in 2002, to draft a notice of the works the company is required to carry out under the terms of the clause. The report recommended a €5.2 million, four-year remedial plan to prevent pollution in the Silvermines area.
At a meeting between the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, North Tipperary County Council and Mogul of Ireland Ltd in Nenagh yesterday, the mining company presented an overview of its proposals to discharge its responsibilities under Clause K of their mining lease.
In a statement yesterday evening, a spokesman for the Department said: "The company is proposing that waste materials should be left in at the sites covered by Clause K and that remediation works be conducted at each individual site.
"Mogul is also proposing the beneficial re-use of organic wastes from a variety of sources to assist with the restoration of the various sites. For this, Mogul will prepare a detailed proposal."