Opposition to a massive landfill site in the scenic Silvermines mountains area of north Tipperary is mounting, and the campaign will be intensified at a public meeting in Nenagh tonight .
It has also emerged that the parent of the company behind the project has paid out $671,861 for environmental breaches in the US. Waste Management Inc has admitted the breaches.
A spokesman for Waste Management Ireland Ltd said that despite the opposition it was determined to go ahead with its plans to cater for waste from the mid-west region, western areas and parts of the south.
The £6 million dump would cater for 180,000 tonnes of refuse a year over a 25-year period. The dump is proposed for the disused overcast mine at Ballynoe near the village of Silvermines.
In September the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, announced the development of a national mining heritage centre in the area costing £1.5 million. This is regarded as a flag-ship tourism product for north Tipperary and is targeted to open for the year 2000 tourist season.
Massive opposition to the landfill site is supported by local politicians and community groups including the Silvermines Action Group. The group's public relations officer, Mr Eamonn de Stafort, said the scenic Silvermines area had been "desecrated by three decades of intensive mining operations" and he suggested it was now time to stop.
Waste management Inc is the largest waste-disposal company in the world, and its Irish subsidiary will have to secure a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and planning permission from North Tipperary County Council. A company spokesman claimed that the project would be run according to top-level environmental standards.