Dumping at sea from vessels, aircraft or offshore installation of a substance or material without a permit is prohibited by the Dumping at Sea Act 1996 as amended. The purpose of a Dumping at Sea permit is to regulate the dumping of material at sea.
Certain functions relating to dumping at sea were transferred from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Foreshore and Dumping at Sea (Amendment) Act 2009. This Act empowers the EPA to decide on an application for a permit to dispose of material at sea and the subsequent issue of Dumping at Sea permit. For more details, see Permitting dumping at sea in Ireland.
The Dumping at Sea (DAS) permitting process consists of number of stages that involve consultation with the applicant and statutory consultees and this process also allows for public participation, by way of a written submission. The validity of an EPA decision on an application may be challenged by way of judicial review.
Any person can make a submission on any Dumping at Sea permit application received by the EPA.
Any person who wishes to dispose of material at sea is required to apply for a Dumping at Sea permit.
All applicants are advised to familiarise themselves with relevant guidance documentation before submitting a completed application for permit and a Material Analysis Reporting Form.
All permit application documents, correspondence, submissions and the Dumping at Sea Register, which gives particulars of all permits granted, are available at Search for a DAS Permit.
Please note that during the Covid-19 pandemic there are new arrangements in place for the receipt of new applications for Dumping at Sea permits. Accordingly, any application documentation should be emailed to licensing@epa.ie using the file transfer application MS OneDrive. Each file should be in a searchable .pdf format and a size not exceeding 10MB. A full copy of the application, including sediment chemistry results using the Material Analysis Form in Excel should also be submitted on CD-ROM or USB Key by post to EPA Headquarters, PO Box 3000, Johnstown Castle Estate, County Wexford, Y35 W821. Please also note, post Covid-19 restrictions, you may be contacted to submit two hard copies and one CD-ROM copy of the submitted electronic correspondence.
If you require a Dumping at Sea permit, contact the EPA's Environmental Licensing Programme at:
Office of Environmental Sustainability
PO Box 3000
Johnstown Castle Estate
Co Wexford
Lo-call: 0818 33 55 99
Tel: 053 9160600
Email licensing@epa.ie
