Green light for Ballyjamesduff treatment plant

Cavan County Council has given the green light to Irish Water for a new wastewater treatment plant in Ballyjamesduff capable of catering for a population of up to 5,200.

The existing plant had been described as “overloaded”, with the current level of waste being treated over its capacity.

Concerns over the impact the existing plant is having on the nearby Mountnugent River fed into the decision to replace the facility.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency and Inland Fisheries Ireland made representations to Cavan County Council on the planning file.

An EPA report showed discharge from the plant was not meeting standards.

Documents submitted with the planning application highlighted concerns over the Mountnugent River system, which is currently classed as having a “poor” water quality status, with the plant creating a “significant pressure” on the system.

A submission was also lodged by Éamonn Ross on behalf of the Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association.

While welcoming the upgrade to the plant, the LSPTA said it was “anxious that any developments in the area around Lough Sheelin should not have a negative impact on water quality and in particular should not increase the current Phosphate or Nitrate loading”.

It further challenged a number of claims in Irish Water’s Environmental Impact Assessment, including statements about trout and salmon stocks and the suitability of the Mountnugent River for these.

Significant further information was submitted in late September. The plans were approved last week.

Asked when work would begin on the new facility, a spokesperson for Irish Water said a decision would be made once full planning permission is in place. “Irish Water awaits a final decision from Cavan County Council on December 14. Conditional permission is not a grant of permission and works cannot commence until permission has been granted by the local authority.”