Huge fine for dump breaches slashed by 900k

 

Waste management company Oxigen and the council have had over €900K wiped from fines imposed over a breach at a controversial landfill, an appeal court has ruled.
In November 30, 2012, at Cavan Circuit Criminal Court, the company and the council, in total were fined over a million Euro for breaches of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) licence at Corranure landfill. The council was fined €260K while Oxigen Environmental Ltd was fined €780K, after both parties admitted liability.
The €1.04M was the “highest ever imposed”, the appeal judge said, before reducing each fine to €50K - a reduction of €904K.
The recent appeal court recalled that “the offences related to the disposal of waste at a landfill in Corranure and Lismagratty Townlands, Cootehill Road, Cavan, between February 14, 2007 and September 30, 2007, in respect of the first named appellant [Cavan County Council] and between October 1, 2007 and February 14, 2009, of the second appellant [Oxigen]”.
Both had pleaded guilty to the to one count of having disposed of waste other than in accordance with a term of the waste licence, of which the council was the holder - Oxigen managed and operated the site between October 1, 2007, and February 14, 2009. The site is currently under new management.

Noxious odours

The EPA inspected the site four times during 2007 and 2008 and detected the presence of “noxious odours” and “malodorous landfill gases” generated by the waste at the €19M facility.
Between 2007 and 2010, the EPA received 1,400 complaints about the smell which was affecting residents in Ballyhaise and north of Cavan Town.
Appeal Judge John Edwards, in establishing relevant background, noted that the odours travelled up to two kilometres from the site, which itself was “within 1.6km radius of approximately 100 residences”.
“There are also two secondary schools, housing developments and a residential nursing home within a short distance,” he said.
Both parties appealed only the severity of the fines, which had been calculated at €10K per week that the appellants had managed and operated the site - the maximum fine was €12.7M.
That first court heard that the site took in 80,000 tonnes of waste in both 2007 and 2008 and received over €800K in disposal fees each year.

'Excessive’
The appeal judge, in his ruling, said that the fines were “the highest ever imposed historically and imposed without adequate regard to the ability to pay”.
“It is difficult to quantify the discount given by the sentencing judge for mitigating factors such as pleas of guilty, co-operation with the EPA, good standing with the EPA, the remedial works and efforts undertaken and the remorse and apologies expressed... the court is satisfied that the fines imposed were excessive and disproportionate to a significant degree.”
Figures submitted to the court showed current expenditure of €427K and €295K for 2013 and 2014, the latest available, and capital expenditure of €728K and €535K for the same years, which were taken into account before both fines were substituted by the €50K.
Cavan County Council said the reduction in fine was “substantial” and that “the site remains in compliance with environmental standards”, adding they have until the end of the year to pay.
Oxigen were contacted for comment but at the time of going to press no response was received while the EPA said “as sentencing is a matter for the courts the EPA has no comment to make”.