A major fish kill on a tributary of the River Shannon happened beside a licensed landfill site operated by Limerick County Council, a Bord Pleanála hearing into a proposed "super dump" has heard.
The local authority wants to extend its 25-acre landfill at Gortadroma in west Limerick by developing an additional 45 acres of landfill and a further buffer zone of 53 acres.
Local residents and a number of concerned groups have lodged objections to the extension which, it is proposed, could extend the lifespan of the landfill by up to 20 years.
At current levels of dumping, landfill space in the Gortadroma site is due to run out next year.
Counsel for the Gortadroma Action Group, Mr Oisín Collins, told the hearing in Limerick yesterday a report by the Environmental Protection Agency found the council was in breach of its waste licence following a fish kill last May.
Up to 1,000 adult brown trout were found dead on a stretch of the White River between Gortadroma and Ballyhahill in Co Limerick following the incident.
A report by Enviros Consulting Ltd, on behalf of the local authority, found that the fish kill happened immediately after maintenance works had been carried out by council staff at the landfill site.
The report added that analysis of water in surface settlement tanks revealed high levels of ammonia, which could have been high enough to cause the fish kill.
Mr Collins asked the council's senior environmental engineer, Mr Tom Tarpey, to identify to the hearing the probable cause of the fish kill. Mr Tarpey replied: "Our report suggested that the cause could not be definitely determined but the council accepts that maintenance works to surface water tanks may have been a contributory factor."
Asked whether he believed Gortadroma was now an environmentally safe site, he said: "It is our objective to operate it in that fashion." Mr Collins suggested it was impossible to claim there was no pollution from the site. Mr Tarpey replied: "No one can say that. It's our objective to operate the landfill within the terms of the EPA waste licence."
A number of residents living near the existing landfill also voiced strong objections at the hearing to the proposed extension of the dump. Many cited as their biggest concern a putrid odour emanating from the dump and some voiced fears over a smell of gas which they claimed was also coming from the landfill.
Mr Patsy Hayes, who lives 400 metres from the landfill, told the hearing that six weeks ago he had installed all new windows and doors at his home to try to keep out the smell. The chairman of the local angling club, Mr Mick Walsh, told the hearing he had been on site following the last reported fish kill in May some two days before council officials arrived to examine the scene.
The hearing is due to conclude today.