The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed in principle to grant a licence to Dublin City Council to operate the proposed Poolbeg incinerator at Ringsend.
The agency said today it was satisfied that emissions from the facility, when operated under the licence, will not adversely affect human health or the environment and will meet "all relevant national and EU standards".
The Poolbeg site at Ringsend in Dublin
A 28-day public consultation process will now take place before the EPA makes its final decision on granting the licence.
The proposed licence provides for the operation of an incinerator, or so-called waste-to-energy plant, with a maximum annual intake of 600,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste.
According to Dublin City Council, the plant will generate enough energy from the waste to provide electricity for 50,000 homes and district heating for a further 60,000 homes.
Some 109 individual conditions relating to the facility were set out by the EPA today. Conditions include a requirement that only residual waste will be incinerated at the facility. Hazardous waste will not be permitted. Residual waste means waste that has been pretreated to extract recyclable and reusable components.
The EPA also said the facility must operate as a "combined heat and power plant to generate electricity and heat for a district heating scheme". All emissions from the facility must also comply with the EU Directive on the Incineration of Waste.
Enforcement officers at the EPA will monitor and enforce the conditions through "environmental audits, unannounced site visits and systematic checks on emissions", the EPA said.
An Bord Pleanála has already granted planning permission for the incinerator, which would be one of the largest such facilities in Europe.
One of the most controversial developments to come before the board, the application for the incinerator by Dublin City Council attracted more than 2,500 objections. It was opposed by several politicians, including Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who is a TD representing the Ringsend area.
If the EPA grants the licence, the council hopes to begin construction in late 2008 or early 2009. The licence application was originally submitted to the EPA in July 2006. Further information was sought from the council, and the application was completed in June this year.
During the public consultation period, objections and requests for oral hearings can be lodged with the EPA by any person or body, including the council. The public consultation period ends on December 18th.
In a statement, Mr Gormley noted the EPA's decision. He said he was legally prohibited by Section 60 (3) of the 1996 Waste Management Act "from becoming involved in an ongoing waste licensing process".
However, Mr Gormley said his position on incineration is "well known," and he has recently begun a review of waste policy and the regional waste management plans.
"This review is premised on the fact that incineration is no longer the cornerstone of waste policy," the Minister said. "An over-availability of thermal treatment is counter-productive to sustainable waste policy as we move forward."
He said the "obvious over-capacity" in the incineration area is not sustainable. "We must continue to focus on sustainable waste management such as reduction, reuse, recycling and mechanical biological treatment," he added.
Dublin City Council said that it would "study and respond" to the conditions laid down by the EPA. It said it would also make an application to the Commissioner for Energy Regulation, as required.
The council estimated that over 600,000 tonnes of waste would require treatment at the plant, even after Dublin reaches its "very ambitious" target of 59 per cent recycling.
The recycling rate is currently 40 per cent, the council said. Landfilled waste will be reduced to 16 per cent, and the remaining 25 per cent will go for thermal treatment.
The council said says this approach is "the best practicable environmental solution" to maximise recycling, minimise landfill and reduce climate change impact.