Co Clare's proposed new central landfill site will damage the environment, tourism and agriculture in north Clare, objectors have claimed.
The Inagh Anti-Landfill Group and the Irish Forestry Unit Trust yesterday lodged a joint objection to last month's decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant a waste licence to Clare County Council for the landfill.
The dump would be in a 160acre forested site at Ballyduff Beg, 3 km from the village of Inagh, and would take 56,500 tonnes of waste annually.
The anti-landfill group and IFUT have also claimed that the dump would have detrimental effects on flora and fauna and pollute groundwater. They have requested an oral hearing into the EPA's decision.
The anti-landfill group and IFUT, the owners of the land for the proposed dump, are supported by objections from the Clare Tourist Council, the North Clare Anglers' Association, the board of management of Inagh's National School and 157 individual letters.
According to the objection, dumping there would result in "local extinctions of internationally important fauna such as pine martens, otters, hen harriers, long-eared owls, badgers and freshwater pearl mussels".
Drawn up by environmental consultant Mr Jack O'Sullivan, the joint objection argues that "the intrinsic unsuitability of the proposed site will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for the landfill to be operated in accordance with the conditions attached to the licence".
Mr O'Sullivan states that by ignoring examples of waste minimisation, reuse and recycling elsewhere and by concentrating on the least preferred and expensive option of landfilling, the council is going against an international trend.
An EPA decision to allow the dump would be a strong disincentive to developing a more appropriate waste management policy for Clare and the region as a whole, he claimed.
The council has made a compulsory purchase order for the 160-acre site.
