A Dublin local authority is to be prosecuted for allegedly failing to comply with an Environmental Protection Agency pollution control licence issued in respect of its management of a landfill site, writes Elaine Edwards.
The agency said it had issued summonses against Fin gal County Council for alleged breaches of the Integrated Pollution Control licence issued for the Balleally waste-management facility in Lusk, north Co Dublin.
It is the first authority to face prosecution in respect of dump management. Numerous complaints about smell and noise have been made to the EPA by residents living near the dump and there has been a concerted campaign to have the almost 30-year-old facility closed. The council has given residents a guarantee that Balleally will be closed by the end of 2004 and no further extensions will be sought. One extension is planned pending a decision on a location for a new landfill site in the region.