Published: Wednesday, 25th August, 2010 5:00pm

Smell from landfill to be monitored by EPA staff member

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed that it is to appoint a full-time person to monitor odours coming from the Corranure landfill in Cavan. The dump has been a source of contention for many years now with residents in the vicinity who frequently complain about smells from the landfill.

This is the first time that the EPA has appointed a dedicated person to solely monitor just one landfill and it's expected that the agent will begin work before the end of this year.

A spokesperson from the EPA told The Anglo-Celt: "This role of site agent was discussed with the EPA, Oxigen Environmental Ltd and Cavan County Council a number of months ago as a result of ongoing compliance issues at the facility. Currently the tender is open to submissions from interested parties and all information pertaining to the tender can be found at www.etenders.gov.ie.";

The EPA requires a suitably qualified candidate to be present at the facility on a full-time basis to observe and assess the day-to-day operation of the landfill. They will also be required to carry out routine odour assessment in the environs of the facility, to verify the source of odours and to ensure that best practices are applied at Corranure with regard to facility operation and odour control.

Recording, investigating and responding to complaints of odours will also be required.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is September 17.

Meanwhile, the PRO of lobby group, Cavan Better Waste Management, Mary McDwyer has welcomed the latest move by the EPA. She said that residents have had a lot of trouble with the landfill site in the past five years but that the landfill has been closed to waste since February when cell three was filled.

"With regard to smells and odours, there have been very few over the past six months and in fact it has probably the best period in over five years of odours in my experience," she said.

Ms. McDwyer continued: "The lack of odours we feel is a direct result of the ceasing of large scale landfilling at Corranure. At present the landfill site is closed.

Oxigen have commenced construction of cell four and we believe that they expect it to be open for landfill in about three months time. They have not got the go ahead from the EPA to fill the site and I presume that this recent news is in line with plans to start landfilling in three months time - that the EPA would not be happy to give them the go ahead to landfill there, unless there was an independent person in there to ensure that everything is done according to the right procedures and practices."

Ms. McDwyer said they were concerned at the prospect of further landfilling but welcomed the fact that this Independent person will be in position to monitor make sure everything is done to ensure that there are no odours; "that we don't have to endure the smells that we had to put up with for the past five years."

Meanwhile the Cavan Better Waste Management group has said that it is still opposed to the planned development of a recycling park and 6,000 sq. m. biological treatment facility at Corranure. Oxigen has yet to lodge the plans for this development with An Bord Pleanála.

This new facility will take in about 600,000 tonnes of waste a year; while it's proposed that a separate licence from the EPA will permit the company to handle about 200,000 tonnes a year (compared to 90,000 tonnes going into landfill at present). Oxigen has said that 80% of that will be recycled and reused via the new facility.

Oxigen rejects claims by the group that the new facility will be taking in 600,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Mr. Killen confirmed that a separate application for a licence to the EPA will permit the company to handle about 200,000 tonnes a year (versus 90,000 tonnes going to landfill at present); he insists that a small fraction of that will be going into landfill.

Cavan County Council has said that technologies such as that being proposed by Oxigen in its new biological treatment facility will form an important part of waste management in the future.

Both the local authority and Oxigen contend that this facility would divert 95% of organic waste from landfill. It is this type of waste, they claim, that produces the offensive smelling methane gas that had plagued the residents around Corranure for years.