Groups Gather in Support of Local Community at Kilconnell Superdump

galway | environment | news report

Tuesday October 25, 2005 10:39

by Ciaran Hughes

ciaran_hughes at yahoo dot co dot uk

Caherawoneen, Kinvara, County Galway.

087-9652992.

Groups gather for guided tour of landfill site

Members of the Shell to Sea/Rossport Solidarity Camp, Galway for a Safe Environment and the Woodland League gathered at the site of the proposed landfill at Killaghmore, Kilconnell, East Galway.

They were treated to a guided tour of the dump by members of the local community.

Damage to a Native Woodland: Greenstar have a felling license to fell just 35 broadleaves

On Saturday the 22nd of October, several people from Shell to Sea/Rossport Solidarity Camp, Galway for a Safe Environment and The Woodland League gathered at the site of the proposed Greenstar landfill site for a tour of the site, guided by several people from the local community.

For an unknown reason, security on-site was at an unprecedented level. Up until now, security at the site has consisted of one to two people. On the day of the gathering, there were 24 security men from Secure-All Security (the company that looks after security on-site) and two Garda squad cars.

Initially, the group requested access to the site through the main entrance, but were refused by the on-site security. This was not argued. Brendan Kelly then led the group up the right-of-way that was the cause of recent protests [http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72344], and onto his land, which adjoins the landfill site. The group examined his lands, noting in particular the effect that the landfill would have on his land as an organic farmer.

The group, led by Brendan Kelly, then attempted to exercise their rights to use a right-of-way/mass-path that leads to an old children’s burial ground that has been near destroyed by the landfill development. Again the group were blocked by security. This time the group argued that they had a right-of-way to the burial ground, though the security personnel claimed ignorance of any such right-of-way. The security personnel explained that this right-of-way was to be fenced off. From off-site, it was noted that there was a dump-truck parked exactly where the children’s burial ground was.

We then asked for access to the native forestry on-site, which has been used for many years by walkers and nature enthusiasts. We were told we could access the native forest once we didn’t cross the fence that Greenstar had erected. On approaching the native forest, we found that the entire forest had been fenced off, giving no access to the walkers and enthusiasts that have accessed the forest for years. In the mean-time, two of the group had inadvertently wandered passed the fence, which was incomplete, to find themselves on the opposite side to the rest of the group. They were promptly escorted by security personnel back to the other side of the fence.

The group skirted around the fence, until we met some more people from the local community, who walked with us across a further right-of-way across Greenstar land. This particular right-of-way was the cause of protests by the local community early this year, when Greenstar attempted to cut it off. There was no resistance to our using that right-of-way, though at one point, several people from the group wandered through a gap in the fencing, to find themselves near several lagoons. Security, again, escorted the group back on to the right-of-way, and informed us that the Gardaí had been called.

The group then left the right-of-way, and circuited the remainder of the landfill site via a public road. On-route, the group were stopped by a Garda squad car and a Secure-All car. Brendan Kelly was asked to talk to the Gardaí – though no action was taken by the Gardaí.

The group then cut back across Brendan Kelly’s land and exited via the right-of-way they entered via. On the way, it was noted that Greenstar had recently removed part of a hedgerow, despite having said at a public meeting that no further hedgerow was to be damaged.

Returning to Brendan Kelly’s house for refreshments, a discussion was had between the visiting group and the local people that had escorted them around the dump-site. The group told the locals that they fully supported their opposition to the landfill development, particularly considering the breaches of Local Agenda 21 that had occurred. They said that they would spread the news about the dump, and that if there were any further protests, they would try to be there to support the local community.

The visitors said: "We came to find out what was going on, it's obvious now to us that this development is an environmental disaster in the making."

One of the locals, Tomás Lohan, said that “There is a threat to an aquifer located under the site that feeds the ‘lantern’ spring well in Kilconnell. Streams that are fed by the aquifer and run off the site feed the Claren River that flows to the sea at Clarenbridge, home of the famous Oyster Festival”.

Brendan Kelly described the destruction of the native woodland: “Greenstar have a felling license to fell just 35 broadleaf trees. They have felled far more broadleaf trees. Earlier this year, we brought an independent ecologist to the site to determine if this could be one of the few remaining ancient woodlands in Ireland. Preliminary investigations by the Woodland League suggested that this was the case, but we needed an expert to determine for sure. However, when we brought our ecologist to the site, we were refused access. We now know that Greenstar have destroyed large sections of this woodland.

They have also stripped away well in excess of 60 acres of blanket bog, which is a very fragile and increasingly rare eco-system, and as has been reported previously on Indymedia, they have destroyed numerous archaeological sites.

Everything we did today, we did as our duty under Local Agenda 21. Everything I have done to stop this dump, I have done as is my right under Local Agenda 21.

We, the local community, want to thank everybody that came today. It means so much to us that our plight is being recognised by others”

Links to previous articles:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72344
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72434

Bog stripped away by Greenstar

The right-of-way which was the cause of protests earlier in the year. This was the first of two right-of-ways that were obstructed by Greenstar.

Sods of turf: Every day members of the local community draw out a single sod of turf to demonstrate their rights on the right-of-way

Rainjar, used to measure rainfall on the site and that, despite heavy rainfall on the day, was empty.

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Comments (9 of 9)

Nimbley NIMBY

by BANANAMAN

Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:48

The jar is for measuring dust deposition I reckon lads. And what do you expect to do with your waste? Oh yeah, I forgot Galway is a zero waste area, or was that just a dream....

Dear BANANANANANANANANANANANMANANAN

Tue Oct 25, 2005 14:10

Firstly, I live approximately 30 miles from the site of the dump, so you can't really call it a NIMBY issue for me, can you?

Secondly, in most of West Galway they cannot place dumps because of the boggy nature of the soil - so what do they do? Come to East Galway and put a dump in a bog on top of an aquifer. Makes sense.

No, I get the point alright.

by B.A.N.A.N.A.MAN

Tue Oct 25, 2005 15:32

Firstly, ok, so maybe not a NIMBY, but perhaps a BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything).
As for the threat to the aquifer, if the proposed development is built to the current standards required for a modern engineered landfill, and operated under the required licence from the Environmental Protection Agency,it is very likely that there is less threat from this type of installation than from agricultural run-off (fertilizers, slurry) then from leachate from the landfill seeing as it would be a fully lined cell system with leachate collection and primary treatment onsite, before removal offsite for further treatment. Maybe theres no agricultural activity in the area, in which case, yes, the potential for pollution to occur in the aquifer has increased, but from a very low level, (and anyway, how important is it, regionally, as aquifers go?)
I'm sorry if I'm annoying you, but this kind of opposition to any waste management facility really vexes me. Don't people see that there is no such thing as an ideal site for a 'superdump' as you put it, but we are 'superconsumers' and therefore are creating a massive volume of waste at this present moment in time, and need somewhere to put it.
I'm not trying to just berate you for your stance against Greenstar (I would see myself as both anti capitalist and eco-aware, I don't really burn my rubbish or flytip, and in reality produce very little waste, which goes to... ...... landfill) but it really gets my goat when I such opposition to a project like this, which at the end of the day is for use by the whole community. I admit that I do not know the full ins and outs of this particular project, but what I would really like to see is what you would propose instead of this landfill? And please don't say 'more recycling, zero waste etc.etc., because in the short term, that just is not going to happen. Its sad I know but I do actually dream of a zero waste society.
At the end of the day. I'm just giving my opinion, its not like I'm going to travel all the way to this site to personnally stop you protesting. Just some food for thought, thats all.

Who is Michael Mullins?

by eeeekkkkk

Wed Oct 26, 2005 13:47

????

Well.......

Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:04

any thoughts? It seems to me like getting support from a group like the Shell To Sea campaign is just an attempt to steal some of their thunder, but isn't that primarily a safety issue, and not an environmental one? Anyway, when someone comes up with a viable alternative to this landfill I'd love to hear about it. Perhaps they should just build a thermal treatment facility there?

Well Bananananman

Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:06

Sorry, I know how to start spelling bananana but I just don't know when to stop... ;-)

I'm not even going to try vindicate the support of the Shell to Sea Group to you. I don't need to. Needless to say we didn't go begging for it.

I have been talking to a biochemist, Ms. Helena Kelly, about your comments about fertilizers etc. being more damaging to water than 1,000,000 tons of domestic waste. She rejects that out of hand as being ridiculous, and was outraged that you could make such a statement. In fact, she called the statement was without any foundation and completely idiotic (which I happen to agree with).

Assuming that the 3mm layer of plastic that lines the dump does not become punctured (which is not very likely) and does not leak leachate into the soil and aquifer, to avoid pollution every drop of rain that falls will have to taken from the site for treatment (they are not doing treatment on site, as you suggest).

If on a bad day, 1 inch of rain falls over a sixty acre site - how many tonnes of water fall on site which have to be removed. Do the math. Greenstar claim their will be 25 lorry loads a day withdrawn from the site. Do you know any lorrys that size? Take it that your average cement mixer lorry can hold, at a push, 40 tons.

How important are aquifers? Check the EU Groundwater directives - personally, I'd put more importance on what they say than what you say.

What I propose for the landfill is that waste does not cross borders. Ideally, I would like 100% recycling, but I know that's not possible at this point in time - Galway is doing quite well at 60%. I agree there is a need for landfill, but each area should take care of its own waste. Barna Waste have told the community that they will not be putting any waste on that landfill. Not out of any support for the community or anything, but simply because they do not have the waste to put there - all their waste is accounted for, and in fact they apparently need to collect more waste to meet the demands of whatever they do with it. Therefore, it becomes fairly clear that there isn't enough waste in Galway to fill the 100,000 tons a year proposed for the landfill - where is it all to come from?

Well, don't Greenstar have links with a lot of waste collection companies in the South East of the country? I'm not sure of this, but there certainly isn't the waste in Galway to fill the landfill.

well if you say so..

Tue Nov 01, 2005 13:24

1. Sorry for outraging Ms. Kelly with my idiotic statement that was apparently without foundation. If you want to see what damage fertilizers and other agriculture related substances can do check out: http://www.epa.ie/EnvironmentalResearch/ReportsOutputs/FileUpload,1970,en.pdf
BTW, theres more than just a 3 mm piece layer of polythene lining the cell.
2. Much of the rain water that would fall on the site would not be allowed to just run throught the waste but be diverted away as surface runoff, therefore you don't need to treat each and every drop that falls on the site
3. I know that aquifers are important. What I asked was how important was this one, regionally. And you'd be right to put more importance in what the EU say about aquifers, so would I. I'm not saying I'm a leading authority or anything.
4. Your proposal of having smaller landfills catering for more localised areas seems to make a bit of sense, even goes along with the old 'proximity principle', but wouldn't it mean that you would have more sites that could potentially cause environmental harm?
Why not just have one big one catering for a larger area, that would be properly built, monitored etc. Easier to keep an eye on one big landfill and deal with any problems than having to keep tabs on lots of smaller ones.
5. Why do I bother? You just seem intent on poopooing everything I say, so being the idiotic enrager of biochemists that I am, I'm just going to give up (on this thread anyway). I'd just ask one thing, don't misrepresent what I said, just read it again.
Hope your protest works out for you, you seem intent anyway.

Doubts concerning Galway Co. Council's "monitoring" of Superdumps

by William Finnerty

Sun Jan 01, 2006 14:59

================================

'Incidentally, my "crime" is to have shouted at a public official (or "public servant" in Republic of Ireland terminology) who refused to look at an unlawful sewage discharge coming from the Primary School near my home (in County Galway), which is managed I understand by the local Parish Priest (Fr Pat Kenny), and which enters the river going through the village about 100 yards or so upstream from the pump-house for the local community water supply. Further information relating to this and other illegal sewage discharges near my home can be found at: http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/environment.htm . '

'The local government (Galway County Council) public official (Mr Enda Hoey) was in the village at the time for the purpose of trying to force me to take down a sign which contained an Internet address that carried information relating to Article 28A.1 of the Constitution of Ireland ("Bunreacht na hEireann") - and which local and central government obviously did not want the general public to know anything about in the run-up to the May 2002 General Election, because it would get in the way of their unconstitutional and unlawful plans to locate two huge rubbish dumps in the area (virtually on top of the Esker Riada, the most famous by far of the "Five Great Roads of Ancient Ireland"): one of which is to be located in New Inn near the world famous Turoe Stone, and the other, by Greenstar / National Toll Roads, in Kilconnell near Woodlawn House (the 1600s ancestral home of the present Lord Ashtown). Further information relating to the "Internet" road-sign can be found at:
http://www.finnachta.com/Election/May_2002_General_Election.htm .'

'Information relating to my failed attempts to get legal help with the preparation of my court defence, which included letters sent through the registered post to Prime Minister Ahern TD and the Director of Public Prosecutions (Mr James Hamilton) can be seen at: http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/21Sept2002_.htm . Please note, as can be seen at this last address, that I also sought help from several European Union "public officials" - including, for example, the then European Union Commissioner for Health, Mr David Byrne (who, if my memory serves me correctly, is a senior Dublin lawyer).'

================================

The above quotes has been taken from a longer piece of text at:
http://www.constitutionofireland.com/BullyOnLine-28December2005/Message58166.htm

Letter to Eddie Holt (Irish Times Journalist)

by Vercingetorix

Tue Jan 17, 2006 13:48

Dear Mr Holt,

Some days ago I was handed a copy of your recent article in The Irish Times Weekend Review (Saturday, January 7th 2006) on the now-opened "SuperDump" in Kilconnell (County Galway), which is located near my home.

Though I feel your article is in many respects extremely good, I am nonetheless very concerned by the fact that it contains no mention at all of the United Nations Aarhus Convention Agreement which the Republic of Ireland signed in 1998.

As you may not be aware of the extremely important link - the BROKEN link that is - between the Kilconnell superdump, and the United Nations Aarhus Convention Agreement, I would be very grateful if you could please take note of the contents of the January 15th 2006 Indymedia Newswire publication I have reproduced below - which attempts to briefly explain the important "broken link" in question, together with some of the extremely negative and worrying social consequences closely associated with it.

I also hope that your many other colleagues in the media who this e-mail is being copied to will note the contents of the Indymedia Newswire publication reproduced below as well.

You, and your other media colleagues, may wish to note too that as a direct result of this huge Greenstar / National Toll Roads rubbish dump project, I have so far spent a total of around 21 months living in forced exile (away from my home in County Galway), in order to avoid being corruptly criminalised in connection with my efforts to challenge the legality of the Kilconnell SuperDump; and, that in spite of the very best efforts of myself, Mr Gerard Madden (Senior Social Worker, Omagh, Northern Ireland), and my GP (Dr Michael McCavert), I remain unable to find a lawyer who is willing to help me prepare my legal defence in connection with the criminal offence I was charged with in 2002: which, as you may already know, is a very straightforward and blatant violation of Article 6 of The European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (Republic of Ireland).

In addition, the very severe and prolonged mental torture I am being subjected to as a consequence of being deliberately deprived of my legal rights under the European Convention of Human Rights - for no good reason whatsoever that I know of - means that The Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention Against Torture) Act, 2000 (Republic of Ireland) is also being blatantly violated in my case: all with the full knowledge (and approval apparently) of Minister for Justice Michael McDowell TD, and Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson MP. (Full details of the letters from Mr Madden and Dr McCavert sent to Minister McDowell TD and Minister Hanson MP can be found in the list provided at http://www.constitutionofireland.com/ .)

For future reference purposes, a copy of this e-mail will be placed at the following address later today:
http://www.constitutionofireland.com/EddieHoltIrishTimesJournalist17January2006/Email.htm

Translations facilities will be made available at the above address.

Yours sincerely,

William Finnerty
"St Albans"
New Inn
County Galway
Republic of Ireland.

PRINTED COPY: Dr Michael McCavert GP, Omagh Health Centre, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

>>> From Indymedia Newswire location:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72344&condense_comments=false#comment134512 >>>

Difference between signing and ratifying a convention
by W. Finnerty Sunday, Jan 15 2006, 1:08pm

+++ +++ +++

Full list of addressees on today's e-mail to Mr Holt, which includes Prime Minister Ahern TD , President Mary McAleese, and Justice Minister McDowell TD, together with "Yahoo Internet Message ID & Tracking Information" can be viewed at:
http://www.constitutionofireland.com/EddieHoltIrishTimesJournalist17January2006/Email.htm

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Groups Gather in Support of Local Community at Kilconnell Superdump

Comments (9 of 9)