REPATRIATION OF waste illegally dumped at 20 sites in Northern Ireland is likely to take several years, with a second phase of the work not getting under way until early 2011.
Work on phase one of the project, the removal of some 4,500 tonnes of refuse from a site at Slattinagh, near Garrison, Co Fermanagh, started yesterday.
The waste is being transported in a fleet of 30-tonne, sealed trucks to a Donegal County Council landfill at Ballynacarrick, just south of Beleek in Co Donegal.
When this operation is complete some 10,000 tonnes of waste at another illegal dump near Trilick in Co Tyrone will also be removed to Ballynacarrick.
Together the Trilick and Slattinagh operations represent phase one of the overall operation to remove waste from the dumps located largely in Border areas.
The initial project is being carried out by Dean Public Works Ltd of Co Fermanagh, advised by GeoDelft Northern Ireland, which has expertise in assessments of contaminated land.
The next phase in the operation is the assessment and removal of waste from illegal dumps in Co Down, starting with a site in Ballymartin, near Kilkeel. However, the Co Down operation will require a new tendering process and it is expected to be early next year before waste is removed from the ground. Sources indicated there is as yet no agreement on where it would be taken in the Republic, but it is likely to be within the Border region under the “proximity principle”. The proximity principle holds that waste should be treated as close to source as possible given the additional environmental effects of transport.
It will be removed in accordance with Article 24 of the EC Regulation on Shipments of Waste.
At a normal “gate fee” of about €102 per tonne the cost of reinterring the waste in Donegal would be in excess of €1.45 million, although it is understood a special rate has been negotiated with the council. Donegal County Council said it was not in a position to comment yesterday.
The costs of excavating and transportation would be in addition to whatever charges are imposed by Donegal County Council.
Sources said costs for the clean-up may vary considerably and may even be in excess of the €36 million estimated this week. This is because waste dumped illegally may have caused contamination to surrounding soils and watercourses. A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said: “If we can find out who did this we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the taxpayer is not ultimately left with the bill.”
