On the 28th January 2009 at Bailieborough District Court, Mr. Gabriel Maguire pleaded guilty to six charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency in relation to offences under Section 8 and Section 86(6) of the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 to 2007 for breaches of his Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) Licence (Reg. No. P0679-01).
Mr. Maguire admitted breaching conditions of his licence by:
· Permitting the unauthorised discharge of polluting matter to water.· Failing to prevent further contamination of surface water.· Failing to maintain on site, and for inspection by the Agency, the results of monitoring of available storage capacity for slurry/manure.· Failing to ensure that freeboards of all covered slurry/manure storage tanks and uncovered slurry/manure storage tanks were maintained at all times.· Failing to provide high-level alarms, external safety ladders and raised platforms on all over ground slurry storage facilities.· Failing to ensure that all animal tissue and carcasses stored on-site pending disposal were placed in leak-proof containers.
On hearing details of the offences from an EPA inspector, Judge Sean McBride imposed a fine of €500 for each charge and awarded EPA costs of €9,402.
Mr. Gabriel Maguire was granted an Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) Licence (Reg. No. P0679-01) on the 16th April 2004 under Class 6.2 - for the rearing of pigs in installations, whether within the same complex or within 100 metres of that complex, where the capacity exceeds 1,000 units on gley soils or 3,000 units on other soils and where units have the following equivalents: 1 pig=1unit, 1 sow=10. The facility is situated at Drummanduff, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan.
This prosecution was taken following a site inspection carried out by an inspector from the Office of Environmental Enforcement on 15th October 2007 and also, with the co-operation of Cavan County Council, following a further site inspection by the Office of Environmental Enforcement on 3rd January 2008, after notification of a slurry spill on 23rd December 2007.
