Waterford City and County Councils were charged in two separate cases yesterday with various offences of failing to comply with a landfill agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At Waterford District Court solicitor for the EPA Barry Doyle claimed the county council did not flare off flammable gases and failed to permanently cap a landfill site at The Burrows in Tramore as promised.
The area was designated for the protection of birds and other wildlife as laid out in a European directive. Senior counsel for the county council Dermot Flanagan admitted a breach of the 18-month timeframe agreed for the work.
Mr Flanagan told Judge William Hartnett that one of the seven landfill cells was permanently capped while the remaining six were temporarily capped with soil.
Waterford City Council was accused of not flaring off flammable gases and failing to permanently cap a landfill site at Kilbarry. It was also charged with other breaches, including failure to provide adequate ventilation and not taking proper steps to prevent the leakage of contaminated water. Both cases were adjourned until June 10th.
