Environment « Thurles Information

Proof That Waste By Tipperary Co. Council Continues

We joked about it first on September 17th, 2018. Now 2 years and almost 5 months later, it has finally happened.
Heavy vehicles, in the coming days, can soon hopefully travel without obstruction or other hinderance; same caused by the stupidity of Council road engineers.

**Road junction structure first introduced in September 2018**, **at the junction of Clongour Road and Slievenamon Road.**

But just how much of taxpayers money has been wasted by these same Tipperary County Council officials, led by Tipperary Chief Executive Mr Joe MacGrath and Mr Marcus O’Connor (Director of Services Roads, Transportation, Infrastructure).

**Same junction at Clongour Road and Slievenamon Road being properly realigned today, February 22nd, 2021, but at what cost to Thurles taxpayers?**

Perhaps latter named gentlemen would like to inform our paid, elected, public representatives at the next online meeting of Council reps, or perhaps Mr Jackie Cahill or Mr Michael Lowry could find out through a freedom of information request, while condemning the wanton waste.

Meanwhile, the waste continues within the town, as a ‘not fit for purpose Thurles Chamber of Commerce’ also remains in hiding, incapable of supporting Thurles business interests.

Planning Application For 24,500 Ton Recycling Dump In Thurles Launched.

The planning application by Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd, for a 24,500 tonnes, per annum, waste facility, close to an already granted 5,000 ton facility, both to be located at Cabragh Business Park in Thurles, can now be viewed in detail.

Click HERE to view in full and having opened the online page: –
Next – Go to pale green tab centre marked ‘View scanned files.’
Next – Click on box centre of uploaded page, marked ‘I Agree‘ and then click on ‘View Files‘.
View the relevant Planning Application data, by clicking on the various blue ‘JPEG View‘ links right of image.

Do remember that the file number assigned to this planning application is 21158.

Planning Application States.

Development Address: Cabragh Business Park, Ballycurrane, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

a) a single storey material recovery and transfer facility building (of floor area 1031 m sq).
b) a single storage detached prefabricated office building (floor area 60 m sq) with signage on both buildings.
c) vehicular access to the site is via the as constructed existing entrance.
d) a service yard with vehicle weighbridge and vehicle washing area with the site.
e) on-site staff and visitor car parking and truck parking areas.
f) all necessary ancillary site development works to facilitate this development with boundary treatment and landscaping.
g) all associated site works consisting of petrol interceptor and silt traps and connection to existing septic tank and upgraded percolation area with all associated site works (the application relates to an activity requiring a waste facility permit from Tipperary County Council, the waste tonnage for acceptance and handling at the facility will not exceed 24,500 tonnes per annum).

For the many angry local residents, with young families, now residing and paying heavy mortgages; who have contacted Thurles.Info, and who are living in the immediate area of the Cabragh Business Park; you can find more information on the planning application process, by visiting HERE.

It is expected that local councillors (especially those with a financial interest), will support this planning application, thus turning Thurles into a dumping ground, with waste from neighbouring counties being dragged through and stored in the centre of a residential area.

Residents should now write to both local TD’s, namely Mr Lowry / Mr Cahill and to all Thurles Municipal District Councillors asking: – (A) Do they hold any financial interest in either dump, present or purposed, within the Cabragh Business Park venue, which we understand is also being used temporarily, by yet another independent recycling group, namely Ryan Brothers, Mill Road? (B) Will they commit to opposing any other such planning licence, now and into the future?

EPA Continued Essential Environmental Enforcement During Covid-19 Pandemic.

EPA continued to provide essential environmental enforcement activities during the Covid-19 pandemic using innovative approaches.

The EPA employed a range of tools to assess compliance at licensed sites during 2020 and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, including the innovative use of Remote Compliance Assessments.
Odour complaints about licensed facilities rose dramatically in 2020, peaking in April. Overall, there was a 92% increase in complaints received by the EPA.
The EPA continued to carry out inspections focusing on sites causing odour nuisance and on other sites where environmental incidents and emergencies occurred.
The top 5 most visited sites in 2020 were Tipperary Co-operative Creamery Limited (19), Arrow Group (20), Merck Millipore Limited (21), Green Circular Economy Unlimited Company (24) and Limerick Gasworks (30).
Twelve sites were identified as National Priority Sites in 2020, an increase from the eleven sites in 2019. Five of the 2019 sites were again designated a National Priority Site in 2020. Three sites (Arrow Group, Arran Chemical Company Limited and Tipperary Co-op Creamery) were a National Priority Site throughout 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its annual summary report on the enforcement activities carried out in 2020, along with the list of sites which were designated as a National Priority Site during the year.

The report shows that, despite the significant challenges and impact of Covid-19 during 2020, the EPA continued to carry out the enforcement of industrial and waste licences at over 830 individual installations throughout Ireland.

Mr Tom Ryan, Director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, said:

“The EPA continued to provide an essential public service throughout the pandemic carrying out just under 1,100 inspections. With complaints about local licensed facilities almost doubling, the role of the EPA in enforcing industrial and waste licenced activities became even more important and we continued to investigate and respond to complaints as they arose. Odour nuisance was a key issue and 13 per cent of all inspections in 2020 were to investigate odour complaints from the public.”

The report published today highlights the main issues at licensed sites during 2020 and outlines what actions the EPA took to enforce environmental conditions at these sites.

During 2020, the EPA published quarterly updates on its enforcement activities to keep the public informed of the work of the EPA. The main findings of the 2020 report were:

1,089 inspections were carried out by the EPA of which over 200 were remote compliance assessments. 14 per cent of these inspections were to sites on the National Priority Site List.
The top 5 most visited sites in 2020 were Tipperary Co-operative Creamery Limited (19), Arrow Group (20), Merck Millipore Limited (21), Green Circular Economy Unlimited Company (24) and Limerick Gasworks (30). The majority of inspections on these sites were to investigate odour issues.
Complaints to the EPA about licenced sites increased by 92 per cent and peaked in April when 187 complaints were received. The EPA received more than 100 complaints in relation to Arrow Group, Gas Networks Ireland, Tipperary Co-op Creamery and Merck Millipore Ltd.

The EPA also published the latest National Priority Sites List for 2020. The number of National Priority Sites in 2020 was 12, up slightly when compared with 2019 (11). The EPA will continue to focus its resources where they are most needed and to drive compliance at all problematic sites.

Commenting on the publication of the latest National Priority Sites List, Mr. Darragh Page, EPA Programme Manager, said:

“Sites with significant non-compliances with their licence conditions and regular incidents and complaints are placed on the National Priority Sites List. The continued poor compliance status and presence of the Arrow Group and Arran Chemical Company Limited on the National Priority Sites List is of serious concern to the EPA and they are both the subject of ongoing enforcement action to resolve the environmental issues and to bring them into compliance.”

Latest On Planning Sought For A 24,500 Tonnes Waste Facility In Thurles.

**Cabragh Business Park in Thurles**. *Photo: G. Willoughby*.

The planning application and its progress by Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd, for a 24,500 tonnes per annum waste facility, to be located at Cabragh Business Park in Thurles, can now be viewed on eplanning.ie (Click HERE to view).

The file number assigned to this planning application is 21158 and the application remains currently at the pre-validation stage.

Interested parties, of whom there are many, can view the ongoing progress of this planning application over the coming weeks via eplanning.ie by simply entering the reference number 21158 into the file search option available HERE.

**Cabragh Business Park, Site Notice**. *Photo: G. Willoughby*

The decision due date on this planning application is 08/04/2021.

For the many angry local residents with young families, now residing and paying heavy mortgages, who have contacted Thurles.Info, and who are living in the immediate area of Cabragh Business Park; you can find more information on the planning application process, by visiting HERE.

People Agree Access To Nature Is Important For Mental Health.

89% of adults agree that the environment is a valuable asset to the people of Ireland.
84% of people felt access to nature was important for their mental health in 2020.
54% placed climate change as one of the top three environmental concerns facing Ireland.
3 in 5 adults used less fuel for transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The EPA today published its EPA 2020 Year in Review report, which highlights key activities throughout the year. This was accompanied by results of an EPA/Red C poll to measure attitudes toward the environment.

This survey found that 89% of adults agree that the environment is a valuable asset for the people of Ireland. In comparison to last year’s survey, this marks an increase of 2%.

The value of the work of the EPA in protecting Ireland’s environment was highlighted by the survey finding that 84% of people felt access to nature was important for their mental and physical health, in a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The new research also highlighted that 4 in 5 people took steps to help protect the environment in 2020.

The Year in Review highlights the progress achieved by the EPA on its remit in 2020. In terms of air quality, the EPA continued to strengthen the capacity and capability of the air quality network. With the addition of 14 stations in 2020, real-time monitoring has nearly trebled in Ireland since implementation of the programme began. The National Priority Sites for Enforcement continued to be a driving force for change, designating twelve sites as National Priority Sites in 2020.

Commenting on the report highlights, Ms Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA said,

“It is extremely encouraging to see that so many people have personally taken steps to help the environment, as engaging the public on environmental issues is key to the EPA. This underlines the importance of the work we do throughout the year. The monitoring and reporting activities of the EPA remained in place, and even increased in many areas, despite the ongoing pandemic.

The EPA plays a key role, on behalf of the State, in monitoring threats, informing the public and enforcing regulatory measures and our Year in Review 2020 highlights progress in several areas including licensing and enforcement, and citizen engagement.

In 2020, in addition to our reports on waste, water, radon and air quality we published the most comprehensive look at Ireland’s environment to date, the State of the Environment report, which provides a bedrock of research upon which future decisions on environmental protection and priorities can be based.”

The results of the EPA/Red C survey also showed that 3 in 5 adults used less fuel for transport during the pandemic, while the majority of the Irish population have started walking or cycling, considered buying locally produced goods and have increased recycling. In addition, 54% said they placed climate change as one of the top three environmental concerns facing Ireland, with one third stating that it affects them personally.

Laura Burke concluded by stating,

“Now is the time for an overarching environmental policy position for Ireland – to be clear on our ambition to protect Ireland’s environment in the short, medium and long-term. Such a policy position would provide a national vision that all government departments, agencies, businesses, communities and individuals can sign up to, to play their part in protecting our environment. The EPA will continue to work with all stakeholders to place the environment at the heart of decision making, as these survey results clearly demonstrate that the environment is an asset that Irish people clearly value and should be protected and improved for all the people of Ireland.”