Waterford County Council has begun legal proceedings against two parties, following the discovery last month of creosote in material dumped in Tramore landfill.
Investigations into the dumping are continuing and new procedures have been put in place at the landfill to ensure there is no recurrence, councillors were told at their monthly meeting on Monday.
A statement to the meeting, however, contradicted the council's earlier version of how it became aware of the alleged illegal dumping at the site. On February 16th last, the council said it had learned of the situation in media reports that day.
Mr Denis McCarthy, the council's director of services for environment and planning, told Monday's meeting that the first unconfirmed report that a substance had been dumped at the landfill was received by the council on February 12th. "A subsequent visual inspection by an official of the environment section did not reveal evidence of unusual activity at the site," he said.
On the evening of Friday, February 15th, Kilkenny County Council was informed that waste from Belview Port, near Waterford city, had been dumped at Tramore landfill, said Mr McCarthy.
He was contacted by the Kilkenny council late that evening and alerted "to the possible disposal of a hazardous substance in Tramore landfill". A detailed inspection was carried out by Waterford County Council staff the following day.
In a statement issued to the media on Saturday, February 16th, the council said it had begun an investigation "following media reports today". It said it had not been contacted directly about the alleged illegal dumping and "would welcome information from any source".
The legal proceedings now in place are being taken against a waste haulier and the alleged producer of the waste, Mr McCarthy told the meeting on Monday.
A report from the Environmental Protection Agency, commissioned by the council, which was received last week, confirmed that samples taken from the site contained creosote. This is a toxic compound containing phenol.
"The report concluded that three surface water samples and three ground water samples taken on the 16th and 17th of February did not show contamination," he said. However, "small traces of phenolic compounds, possibly arising from creosote contamination, were detected in samples from pond water in the landfill".
No further evidence of creosote had been found to date in either the landfill or in the adjoining waters, but further testing would take place, he added. "An examination of the practices and procedures at the landfill site has taken place and changes made to ensure no further dumping of this nature occurs."