EPA Prosecutes Monaghan County Council

On the 17th October 2005 at Castleblayney District Court, Co Monaghan, Monaghan County Council pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency in relation to offences under Sections 39(1) and 39(9) of the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2003 for breaches of its Waste Licence (Reg. No. 20-1).

The Council admitted breaching conditions of its licence by:

• Failing to install an active landfill gas collection and flaring system.
• Inadequate management of leachate from the landfill.
• The unauthorised transfer of waste to facilities not approved by the EPA.
• Inadequate management of litter and birds around the facility.
• Failing to ensure that vehicles delivering waste to the facility were appropriately covered.
• Failing to ensure that the activities were carried out in a manner that did not result in significant impairment or interference with the local environment beyond the facility boundary.

Breach of these conditions has the potential to impair the local environment and cause odour nuisance.

On hearing details of the offences from an EPA inspector, Judge Flan O’Brien imposed fines totalling €1,600 and the EPA’s costs of €7,142 were also awarded.

Monaghan County Council was granted a waste licence (Reg. No. 20-1) on 7th December 2001. The licence provides for the operation of a non-hazardous landfill with an annual licensed intake tonnage of 39,500 tonnes per annum. It is one of the principal landfills operating in the Northeast waste management region.

This prosecution was taken following two site inspections and an audit undertaken by the Office of Environmental Enforcement on 7th April 2004, 17th June 2004 and 27th October 2004, respectively.