Posted on February 13, 2018
A dumping-at-sea licence granted to the Department of the Marine for the disposal of sediment from the dredging of Dingle harbour will have to be re-examined after a discrepancy about the distances from shore.
The EPA has said no dumping will take place until there are further tests, and said the permit is to be re-examined.
The EPA granted the licence in November and the notice stated the distance to the dumping site is “approximately 2km south of Doonsheane Head (Dún Séanna)”.
Over 61,000 cubic metres of non-contaminated sediment from the €5.5m deepening of the main channel into Dingle harbour is to be brought by barge and dumped at the site immediately southeast of the harbour.
However, there is concern in the communities of Kinard and Listpole after it emerged the buoys to indicate the dump site are only 300-400 metres off their headland – much closer to their beaches than the 2km indicated on the notices.
The EPA has acknowledged there is a discrepancy and has said no sediment will be dumped until the matter is clarified fully and pre-dumping tests are completed.
“While exact distance depends on where in Dún Séanna it is measured from, it is closer to the shore than 2km,” the EPA said.
Locals have said lobster grounds and periwinkle beds are under threat, and have complained of a lack of consultation.
However the EPA said it is their understanding that “the applicant had conducted detailed public consultation events locally in advance of the permit application to the EPA”.
Source: RTE
