An environmental campaigner has successfully challenged the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency to alter the details of a licence governing the discharge of sewage in East Cork.
The High Court has ruled the EPA acted “ultra vires” in amending Irish Water’s licence for the discharge of sewage in Youghal by using a technical amendment.
The ruling arose from a judicial review sought by Peter Sweetman, an environmental campaigner, who claimed the EPA was required to consult with the public about any changes to the licence.
Irish Water applied to the EPA in February 2017 for a technical amendment to its existing licence for Youghal, which was issued in 2012, to reflect the fact that there was no wastewater treatment facility for the town.
The 2012 licence stipulated that such a plant should be in place by December 2015. However, it only became operational in December 2017.
The amendment would allow Irish Water to temporarily use a different discharge point as the primary discharge point from any newly commissioned wastewater treatment plant.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons said the main effect of the technical amendment was that it allowed Irish Water to continue the discharge of untreated wastewater into the Blackwater estuary for an extended period of almost two years. He said it also meant the use of a location at Dunn’s Park as the primary outfall for sewage would continue on a temporary basis, until the construction and commissioning of a new outfall pipe at Ferry Point.
Lawyers for Mr Sweetman said the amendment sought to authorise an ongoing breach of a licence. The EPA said the amendment did not involve any change to the relevant environmental standards.
Mr Justice Simons said he did not accept the EPA’s submission that the 2012 licence did not distinguish between treated and untreated discharges.
“The precise purpose of requiring the completion of the wastewater treatment plant by December 31, 2015 was to ensure the treatment of the wastewater,” he said.
“It would not be consistent with EU law… to allow what is more than a mere technical amendment to be made without any provision for public participation.”
He claimed the extension of time to allow the new plant to be completed “cannot be regarded as a mere technical amendment.” He added that the matter should have been dealt with by either Irish Water applying for a new licence or by the EPA invoking a revision procedure.
This article originally appeared on Irish Examiner.
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