Meath County Council has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against Kildare County Council's decision to grant planning permission for a €25 million superdump on the Meath/ Kildare border.
Meath County Council had originally turned down an application for a Thornton's Recycling waste management facility in 2003. But the applicant put together a second application and applied to its neighbouring council. It was granted permission on September 28th.
County councillors have raised concerns about the environment and the potential threat of pollution to the River Boyne at their recent monthly meeting. Local anti-dump campaigners and An Taisce have also lodged appeals against the development at Calf Field, Ballynadrummy, Co Kildare, on the Meath border.
Spokesperson for Broadford Longwood Environmental Concern (BLEC), Mr Wiet Rentes said: "We did request an oral hearing in our submission. If it is granted it will go ahead sometime in the spring. We are concerned about the water supply, our water comes from our wells. It is a national heritage area, near the Royal Canal and the River Boyne and we are concerned about possible leakage from the dump."
An Taisce heritage officer Mr Ian Lumley said most of the waste taken into the facility would come from Dublin. "Our primary concern is that it is a heritage area, it's near the Royal Canal and the site is of an agricultural nature," he said.
Thornton's Recycling is also appealing to An Bord Pleanála about condition 35 of the planning permission. It said this condition did not permit any development of the Calf Field site until the proposed section of the M4 motorway between Kilcock and Kinnegad is complete.
"This would mean a significant delay in the opening of the waste management facility, a delay over which Thornton's would have no control. We hope to commence construction of the facility during 2006, with the intention of being operational in 2007," the firm said. It stated categorically there would be no discharge from the site into the River Boyne or the surrounding groundwater.
"All leachates will be fully contained on site and removed from the site for treatment at a waste water treatment plant," it added.
The development includes a recycling centre, a non-hazardous residual landfill, an end of life vehicle processing facility, a dry recyclable sorting facility, a bio-diesel recovery facility and a wood recycling and tyre treatment centre.
Meanwhile, Greenstar Holdings (formerly Celtic Waste) has appealed Kildare County Council's decision to turn down its application for a landfill site at Usk, Kilcullen.
Kildare councillors voted unanimously in September to reject recommendations from council officials to approve the site for rezoning.
Mr Seán Ryan, chairman of Usk Residents Association, said it had also submitted an appeal to An Bord Pleanála requesting an oral hearing.
"We feel the council should have been stronger in refusing planning permission," he said. "We are appealing on the grounds of the number of houses in the area, the road infrastructure in the area and its close proximity to the national heritage area."
Greenstar said it would like to reassure local residents that the proposed development would be of no harm to them. "At all times we adhere to the strictest national and international guidelines and our track record as Ireland's leading integrated waste management company firm demonstrates that," a spokesperson said.