“To Save The Boyne, Meath County Council and the EPA need to look at their own data and effectively implement the legislation at their disposal” – so said East Meath Labour Councillor Elaine McGinty this week after her party colleague Ged Nash TD raised the matter in the Dáil.
Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien told deputy Nash that Local Authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) each have legal responsibility for the control of pollution through the regulation of emissions to the environment.
“Effluent discharges to waters are regulated by the EPA or local authorities through licensing depending on the type, nature and size of the discharge” he said.
“All discharges to the aquatic environment from sewerage systems owned, managed and operated by Irish Water require a waste water discharge licence or certificate of authorisation from the EPA. Irish Water Is required to apply to the EPA for a licence or certificate of authorisation for all agglomerations.
“The authorisation process requires the EPA to undertake a rigorous assessment and place appropriate conditions on the operation of such discharges to prevent pollution.
Councillor McGinty said that water quality in Meath, and in particular The River Boyne, is going in the wrong direction and added that the Dawn Meats planning application has been a catalyst for change in how we as a community value and protect this river for future generations.
“In June this year, I put forward a motion which was passed unanimously by Meath County Council members seeking clarity from the Minister of the Environment on who exactly is responsible for issuing commercial wastewater licenses and what legislation should be given priority given the State’s legal commitment to climate change and biodiversity protection” Councillor McGinty said.
“Getting that clarity has not been easy, however perseverance has paid off and working with Ged Nash TD we finally have some answers.
According to the Minister for Environment, both Local Authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) each have legal responsibility for the control of pollution through the regulation of emissions to the environment. In relation to the appropriate legislation the Minister gave the following information;
“An application for a wastewater discharge (WWD) licence (or review of a licence) must satisfy legislative requirements, largely set out in the European Union (Wastewater Discharge) Regulations 2020. The EPA produces its own guidance notes as necessary to assist licensees fulfil the requirements of its licensing processes. Details are available on https://www.epa.ie/publications/ Trade discharges to water are licensable under the Local Government Water Pollution Act 1977 (as amended). “
“We now have clarity from the Minister on the legislation however, Ireland’s performance against European Union Water Framework Standards is worrying. The EPA have acknowledged that the quality of water in many Irish rivers, lakes and estuaries is unacceptably poor. While there is an active plan on river basin management in place to help address these issues, we urgently need to resource, implement and effectively enforce the laws we have.
“We currently have no rivers in County Meath classed as pristine or high standard and only 18% are classed as good which is a fall from 45% in 2007. We also know from data recently provided by the EPA that water levels in The River Boyne dropped by c. 20% in July and August this year alone.
In order to Save The Boyne, Meath County Council and the EPA need to look at their own data on The River Boyne and effectively implement the legislation it has at its disposal.
