Aer Rianta was yesterday fined €1,000 by a district court judge after pleading guilty to polluting the Shannon estuary, which is a EU protected habitat.
Ennis District Court heard yesterday how untreated sewage was being pumped into the Shannon estuary by Aer Rianta due to the absence of sewage treatment facilities at Shannon airport. The provision of sewage treatment facilities was a condition of planning for the airport's €35 million terminal, which opened in March 2000.
The prosecution against Aer Rianta was taken by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board and Fisheries Board official. Mr Michael Fitzsimmons told of coming across a pool of effluent near two discharge pipes into the estuary during an inspection in August 2002. Judge Gerard Haughton said that the pollution was a very serious matter, but opted not to impose the maximum fine on Aer Rianta.
The judge made the decision after hearing that the semi-state company approached Clare County Council with a solution to the sewage problem six years ago, but was advised by the council to put plans for its treatment plant on hold.
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