The announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency to the effect that it will, in all probability, grant an Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Licence for the Corrib gas field terminal at Bellanaboy will be welcomed by all those in favour of this long delayed project - as much as it will cause dismay to those who are opposed to it.
The Shell oil company and its partners want to build a refinery and combustion plant on the site to process gas before delivering it to An Bord Gais for sale and distribution to businesses and homes around this State. The EPA announcement left little room for doubt but that the agency is minded to give the project the go ahead. "The EPA is satisfied," it stated, "that emissions from the refinery, when operated in accordance with the conditions of the proposed licence, will not adversely affect human health or the environment and will meet all relevant national and EU standards."
Thus the ball is placed firmly in the court of those who wish the project to be stopped in its tracks. The Shell to Sea campaign has brought together a disparate group united by one essential aim: to prevent any further progress of the project as outlined. For some, the aim is to prevent any variation of the project, whether by Shell or anyone else.
It is now up to all these people to argue their case in the proper forum. The EPA will almost certainly hold oral hearings into whether they should indeed grant the licence. That is as it should be. The laws and procedures are in place, as are the bodies that oversee them, to determine whether a project such as this goes ahead or not. They have been set in place by the Oireachtas and anyone who wishes to challenge their operation may do so in the courts. But the way forward now is clear: up to February 21st, all persons wishing to lodge objections or make observations are free to do so by sending their views to the EPA headquarters in Wexford. These will be considered and, if the agency feels the project is of sufficient import, it will hold an oral hearing in public.
It would be wise for the agency to take this course. It would be wise also for those for and against the project to participate fully and vigorously in these proceedings. Let all have their say; let each side seek to persuade with expert assistance and throw their arguments open to challenge. And if procedures have been followed correctly, let everyone accept the eventual decision, whatever it may be. In the meantime, it would be better if the confrontations on the roads around Bellanaboy ended and more energy was expended on assembling arguments based on facts and reasonable hypothesis.