An oral hearing into the proposed superdump for Cork city and county is to begin today. Bottlehill, between Cork and Mallow, is the chosen location for the largest landfill yet in the State.
Angry residents of a north Cork community who object to the planned €20 million "superdump" are to present their case this morning.
Last summer the Environmental Protection Agency granted a preliminary waste licence to Cork County Council to operate the landfill at Bottlehill.
Consultants hired to select a site for the superdump, which will be used for the city and county, said their decision to nominate Bottlehill woods was based on cost and environmental and technical reasons.
However, Mr John O'Riordan, spokesman for Bottlehill Environmental Alliance, said the rural area where he lived was totally unsuitable for a dump, which would cover an area of 250 acres.
He said he was afraid that a massive landfill holding the waste of an entire county would be a health hazard, eventually leading to the contamination of groundwater supplies.
"Traffic issues are a huge concern," Mr O'Riordan added. "We will have 140 lorries going down one small stretch of road every day. There are also health considerations such as rats and poisonous gases."
Alliance supporters are particularly concerned that leachate from the dump could pollute local rivers from which domestic water supplies are obtained.
Issues expected to be raised at the oral hearing this morning in the Park Hotel, Mallow, Co Cork, include the threat the dump poses to surface and groundwater, the damage to the wood as a recreation facility and the possible harmful health impact from landfills.
Of critical concern is the possible impact on the Bride river, a salmon river fed by the Coom and Toor rivers, both of which rise in Bottlehill wood.
The Bride river is currently under consideration as a Special Area of Conservation by Dúchas even though it is within 2 km of the proposed landfill.
Objectors to the dump say they feel their concerns have been ignored by Cork County Council and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Members of the Bottlehill Environmental Alliance say they will fight the project to the bitter end to ensure the wellbeing of the 6,000-strong community.
The hearing is expected to last up to six days.