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The EPA has published their latest ‘National Priority Sites List for Enforcement’. The National Priority Sites for Enforcement system was launched by the EPA in July 2017 to drive further environmental compliance at industrial and waste facilities.
Four sites have been removed from the previous National Priority Sites List for Enforcement, following the necessary improvements in their compliance. These are:-
P0791-02 – Arrabawn Co-operative Society Limited, Tipperary.
W0147-01 – Ashgrove Recycling, Cork.
P0390-04 – Carbery Food Ingredients Limited, Cork.
P0403-03 – Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited (Mallow), Cork.
However eight further industrial sites are on the current EPA National Priority Site List for enforcement. Four of these sites are from the agri-food sector.
Six of the sites account for more than half of all complaints received in 2017. The complaints were made about odour, noise or dust. The EPA is continuing to focus its enforcement effort to ensure that sites do not cause nuisance. The current eight sites licensed by the EPA are on the list for failing to meet the necessary environmental standards. These companies face further enforcement action.
The following are the National Priority Sites for Quarter 4 2017. The EPA will update the National Priority Sites list on a quarterly basis.
Reg. No. Licence Name County
P0812-01 Arrow Group Kildare.
W0178-02 East Galway Residual Landfill Site Galway.
P0960-01 Green Pasture Meat Processors Limited Longford.
P0029-05 Irish Cement Limited (Limerick) Limerick. *
P0792-02 Nutricia Infant Nutrition Limited Cork.
P0180-02 Rosderra Irish Meats Group (Edenderry) Offaly. *
P0738-03 Shell E&P Ireland Limited Mayo.
P0320-02 T & J Standish (Roscrea) Limited Offaly.
* Note: Two sites have come back on to the list following further compliance issues. These are Irish Cement, Limerick and Rosderra Irish Meats Group, Edenderry.
Further details of the National Priority Sites scoring system and the list of sites can be found HERE on the EPA website. Enforcement information on all sites can be found under the Licence Search pages on the EPA website.
Complaints about licensed sites can be made on-line or by contacting the EPA at Tel: 053-9160600.
As the Christmas decorations come down, it remains a question that many people will be asking; both here in Thurles and county wide today,“Where can I dispose of my Christmas Tree?”
Fear not, for we bring you good tidings of great joy, yes Tipperary County Council, as is their usual practise, will be taking Christmas trees for recycling, free of charge, at each of the following sites:-
 In the Templemore /Thurles Municipal District:
Parnell Street Car Park, Thurles.
Templemore Town Park, Templemore.
Elsewhere in the County:
Donohill Recycling Centre, Donohill.
Cashel Civic Amenity Site, Cashel.
Fair Green, Carrick-on-Suir.
Nenagh Recycling Centre, Nenagh.
Roscrea Recycling Centre, Roscrea.
Same unwanted trees can be freely disposed of from January 6th until January 14th 2018.
Remember also, those of you with empty bottles to dispose of here in Thurles; same may also be recycled at the Parnell Street Car Park, thus taking advantage of our excellent glass recycling facility.
An ‘Status ORANGE’ low temperature warning has been forecast by Met Éireann from 9.00pm tonight until 10.00am tomorrow morning (Monday) for Tipperary.
A Status / Category ORANGE level weather warning is for weather conditions which have the capacity to impact significantly on people in their affected areas, and implies that all recipients in the affected areas should prepare themselves in an appropriate way for the anticipated conditions.
 It will be dry with clear skies resulting with severe air and ground frost tonight. Lowest temperatures will range -3o, as is presently, to -6o, with light winds travelling from the east and south-east.
Most main roads in Tipperary are expected to be gritted by the local authority, however motorists are advised to travel, exercising extreme caution.
Tomorrow, Monday, will remain dry with the severe frost clearing in non-sheltered areas by mid-day due to the bright sunshine. Cloudy skies will increase from the south and west through the course of the day with a few outbreaks of rain and drizzle expected to appear along southern coasts in the afternoon. Weather will become milder with highest temperatures reaching 4o to 7o degrees.
Possible outlook up to and including Friday next.
Monday: Overnight the county will remain dry throughout.
Tuesday: We will see a mostly cloudy day, becoming slightly milder in a freshening southerly wind. Expect a band of rain to cross the country from the west as the day goes on.
Wednesday: A colder day with a mix of sunny spells and scattered passing showers. The showers will affect mainly the west and a longer spell of rain may affect south-eastern areas. Winds no more than moderate.
Thursday: Will be cool and mainly dry with frost early and late. However, rain and freshening winds will spread countrywide on Friday next.
Ireland’s changing climate projected to result in wide ranging economic and societal impacts
“Observations of the atmosphere, oceans and land show that Ireland’s climate is changing. The observed scale and rate of change is similar to global trends. These changes are projected to continue and increase over the coming decades,” said Dr Margaret Desmond, lead author of one of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research reports being launched today at the EPA Seminar on Climate Change Research.
Commenting on a report entitled ‘A Summary of the State of Knowledge on Climate Change Impacts for Ireland’, Ms Laura Burke, Director General, EPA, stated, “Ireland needs to prepare for the local impacts of global climate change. The ‘State of Knowledge Report’ provides an important overview of projected impacts for key economic, social and environmental sectors. This type of information helps us to plan for a climate resilient future. Ireland is also committed to large scale de-carbonisation of electricity generation, transport and residential heating by 2050. This is a necessary contribution to addressing the causes of climate change, as is enhancing the uptake to carbon in our forests and soils. Valuable insights on addressing these challenges are contained in the other reports also being launched today.”
Dr Margaret Desmond, University College Cork, lead author of the state of knowledge report stated, “The first State of Knowledge Report on climate change was published in 2009. Today the impacts of global climate change for Ireland are clearer and more compelling. Trends are apparent in the temperature, precipitation records as well as in sea level rise and changing ecosystems. Climate projections indicate that these trends will continue but uncertainties remain on the details. The effectiveness of global actions to limit the extent of global climate change remains a key uncertainty.”
The report highlights that a range of adaptation options exist. These can reduce vulnerability and build resilience to a changing climate. Planned management of the associated impacts is necessary to reduce their adverse impacts in a cost-effective manner.
Ms Laura Burke said, “Research plays a key role in increasing our understanding of ongoing changes and in informing responses. Adaptation is a necessary component of Ireland’s response to climate change to protect communities, manage risks from climate impacts, and strengthen the resilience of the economy. Adaptation actions to reduce our vulnerability to the impacts of climate change need to make sense from an economic and environmental perspective and to contribute to our sustainable development. Substantial reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases are also needed – in Ireland, Europe and globally – if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and limit the rate and extent of climate change to a manageable level.”
The other research reports being launched, aim to inform mitigation actions and explore synergies between actions to address air quality and climate change.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), home owners need to take action to protect themselves, their families and their neighbours from risks posed by septic tanks.
- Half of all septic tanks, failed local authority inspections in 2016, posing a potential health risk to home owners and their neighbours
- Half of sites with a septic tank and a private drinking water well on site, also failed inspection.
- Quarter (25%) of septic tanks failed due to owners not removing sludge build-up from their tanks, an issue that can be easily rectified by home owners.
The Environmental Protection Agency today released a review of the implementation of the National Inspection Plan for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems for the period 1st January to 31st December 2016. The National Inspection Plan is being implemented by local authorities under the supervision of the EPA.
The review shows that 49 per cent of septic tanks failed inspection in 2016, up from 45 per cent in 2015. Septic tank failures were mainly due to a lack of proper operation and maintenance. The failure by home owners to maintain and operate a septic tank system adequately can pose a health and environmental risk through the pollution of private drinking water wells or water courses. Many septic tank owners source their water from their own private well.
Commenting on the results Mr. Darragh Page, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said, “Home owners may be putting themselves, their families and their neighbours at risk of ill health if they do not maintain their septic tank system adequately. There are simple steps that home owners can take to ensure their system is managed properly and will pass an inspection. These include: having the sludge emptied from the tank on a regular basis, using a permitted contractor and retaining the receipt and, if the home owner has a package treatment system, having it regularly serviced and keeping a record of servicing.”
By taking these simple steps home owners can protect themselves and their environment from contamination.
The results of the review of the 2016 inspection plan are available on the EPA’s website.
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