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Ringsend sewage plant stink to be probed

Thursday, 03 July 2008

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it will investigate the long running foul odour problem at the sewage treatment plant in Ringsend.
Dublin City Council intends to extend the plant, which currently processes the sewage of 1.9 million people, to a capacity of 2.2 million and possibly 2.8 million.
The scheme has been delayed because of the odour problem, which has persisted since the facility opened in 2003.
However, on the foot of receiving several complaints from a concerned local environmental activist about the ongoing problem, the EPA has requested a report on the matter from city council and will subsequently investigate the issue.
Complaint
The EPA sent a letter stating their intention to carry out the investigation to Damien Cassidy of the Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount Environmental Group, who originally made the complaint.
The letter states: “The EPA has forwarded a complete copy of your correspondence to Dublin City Council and has requested an update on the status of the odour abatement controls at the waste-water treatment plant from the council.
“When the report is received from the council, the EPA will assess it. The EPA will determine whether any further action is necessary and will contact you again with details of the investigation and provide a copy of the report to you.
“While awaiting the report from the council, the EPA recommends that you should continue to report any further incidents of pollution to Dublin City Council.”
Last December, the council said the odour problem would be eliminated by July this year, which would allow the plans for the extension to go ahead.
The council wrote to An Bord Pleanála late last year stating that it believed an EIS would be required for the extension.
In its submission, the council admitted that odour control has been a major issue with the existing plant and would be one of the most contentious aspects of the proposed extension.
Damien Cassidy said his group were pleased that the EPA were taking a “serious look” at the odour problems at the plant.
“Our engineer told us that there is no failsafe system to prevent the odours,” he said.
“We are aware that engineers from all parts of the world were brought in to try and deal with this particular problem.
Appalling
“But even today a local man told me that he was walking past the plant to the beach and the smell was absolutely appalling.”
Mr Cassidy said the original Environmental Impact Statement on the plant carried out by the city council stated that the odours would be confined to within the boundary of the plant itself.
“I have discussed this with councillors who were in office at the time when the plant was approved and they told me that the only reason they approved that plant was because they were given the impression there were no downside to it.”

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