An Bord Pleanála has decided to reopen its oral hearing into the Corrib gas field terminal in north Mayo.
The appeals board took the decision after receiving further information from the applicant, Enterprise Energy Ireland (EEI) - now owned by Shell - which is the main backer of the €125 million project. The resumed hearing is expected to take place in late November.
None of the parties have as yet been formally notified, but The Irish Times understands the board intends to confine the hearing to specific areas, rather than to start again from scratch.
The development comes at a time when the board has been under pressure to make a favourable decision on the terminal.
The Corrib gas field has the potential to be the largest economic development in the west, but several local and national groups, including statutory bodies like Dúchas, have expressed opposition to aspects of the project on environmental grounds.
Recently, the Council for the West and the Minister of State for Labour Affairs and Training, Mr Frank Fahey, (who awarded the project its petroleum lease as former marine minister) issued statements in support of it, and warned of the impact on the region if it did not go ahead.
EEI has denied that its parent company, Shell, is considering putting the project on hold because of delays over the planning approval for the onshore gas processing facility at Bellanaboy. However, the company has experienced setbacks in relation to the onshore dimension.
This is in marked contrast to the relatively easy passage it experienced with the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources on the various legal aspects of the offshore dimension (although a new environmental impact statement had to be submitted when the first was deemed insufficient).
In November 2000, the company applied for planning permission for the terminal on former Coillte land at Bellanaboy, eight kilometres inland from the proposed landfall at Dooncarton, near Rossport in Broadhaven Bay. It had to submit a second application to Mayo County Council in April 2001, after a request for further information.
This second application was approved by the council in August of last year, and was appealed by local residents, the Erris Inshore Fishermen's Association, An Taisce, Friends of the Irish Environment, and Dúchas, the Heritage Service.
Following an oral hearing held by An Bord Pleanála in February, it sent a six-page letter to EEI seeking further information. In this letter, dated June 21st, An Bord Pleanála raised concerns about health and safety, due to the terminal site's proximity to residential areas, and said the company had not demonstrated that Bellanaboy was the best location.
Last month, EEI confirmed it had submitted its response. Commenting on the submission, Mr Andy Pyle, managing director of EEI, said: "Over the past three months we have undertaken a significant review in regard to the issues raised by the board and of the alternatives for developing the Corrib gas field. We believe our comprehensive response, which has been reviewed by various specialist experts, provides sufficiently detailed information to address the queries raised by An Bord Pleanála."
The company's response makes clear the Bellanaboy site is still the favoured option for the gas terminal, though the appeals board had asked them to look at alternatives. The company still has several hoops to go through if a decision on the terminal is eventually made in its favour.
The penultimate stage is an application for an integrated pollution control licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
No gas can be produced without permission from the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern.
