A meeting of Wicklow County Council ended in disarray last night during a debate on illegal dumping.
Much of the proceedings were dominated by independent councillor Tommy Cullen, who accused county manager Eddie Sheehy of "telling lies" about when the council became aware of commercial, illegal dumping.
Mr Cullen also alleged the illegal dumping on Roadstone lands, along with a granting of planning permission to the company to extend a quarry, had threatened a regional water source "and the drinking water of three-quarters of a million people" in Dublin.
He said council management was aware of a European Court precedent which required the owners of land on which waste was dumped to remove all waste and contaminated soils to an authorised landfill.
Yet the council had chosen not to pursue this avenue, and had instead served a Section 55 notice which would allow the company to build a landfill on site without the need for planning permission.
He also insisted that he had told the management of illegal dumping on the site as far back as 1996 and he produced newspaper cuttings which he said supported his case. Labour councillor Nicky Kelly said what had happened at Blessington - the Roadstone site - amounted to "environmental sabotage".
He warned that, unless the waste was taken out, he would propose a motion of no confidence in council management.
The allegations were disputed by Mr Sheehy, who accused Mr Cullen of being the one who was "telling lies".
Mr Sheehy said he was repeating his advice to Mr Cullen to "put up or shut up" in relation to providing evidence to back up his allegations.
He said the council had become aware of "rumours" of illegal dumping on the Roadstone site in 2001. The investigation into illegal dumping had involved the use of private detectives and airborne thermal imaging, and had cost almost €600,000 - money the council had now recouped from the company.
He had been told by the European Commission that the approach taken by Wicklow council was "best practice".
Fingal county councillors yesterday deferred a decision on a controversial regional sewage plant for Portrane, north Co Dublin, to allow for further public consultation.
A meeting of the council yesterday heard concerns that details regarding the plant, contained in the area's water services investment programme 2005 to 2012, had been put on public display over the summer when many people were away on holidays.