Cork County Council members have deferred a vote on a variation to the County Development Plan for two weeks. A vote in favour of the variation would have allowed the rezoning of more than 1,200 acres of woodland as the site for Cork's first superdump.
Bottlehill, midway between Cork and Mallow, was chosen as the site for the proposed 250acre dump, which would receive separated waste only from the city and county.
Following indications from the Cork county manager, Mr Maurice Moloney, at yesterday's council meeting, it now seems likely that only the 250 acres required immediately for the dump would be rezoned and that another proposal to allow the disposal of sludge at the dump site would not go ahead.
The Bottlehill Environmental Group campaigned throughout last year against the dump, which, it claims, will cause serious pollution to nearby river systems which are used for domestic water supplies. Yesterday its spokesman, Mr John O'Riordan, said the apparent concessions from the council were welcomed by the group, but serious concerns about the safety of water supplies still existed.
"The rivers Coom and Tour rise on the proposed site and then feed into the Bride River which is used for domestic water supplies. Two other rivers, the Clyda and Glashaboy, rise nearby and they are also used for domestic water supplies.
"These concerns have not gone away and our position remains the same - we do not want the dump in the first place," Mr O'Riordan said. The £5.9 million dump proposal is likely to be passed by the council in two weeks, but the local authority will then have to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for a landfill licence. This is expected to be granted with stringent conditons.
As part of its involvement in the superdump proposal, Cork Corporation had proposed to construct a materials recovery facility (MRF) at the site of the existing Kinsale Road dump near Cork city, which is now almost full and about to close.
However, members of the corporation have refused to sanction the siting of the recycling facility at the Kinsale Road dump, on the grounds that nearby residents have lived in its shadow for the past three decades. The site is now likely to be landscaped as an amenity area.
This leaves the corporation with the problem of finding an acceptable site for the £16 million MRF, which would play a crucial role in the superdump process, separating the waste into its component parts before it goes to Bottlehill.
A report is being prepared for corporation members on the MRF issue and what options now remain, and a final decision is awaited by Cork County Council. This was the main reason for yesterday's decision not to proceed with the rezoning vote.