Killurin waste digester gets planning approval
Local residents, who had to put up with the old Killurin landfill on their doosteps for more than 20 years, said they were very surprised at the planning decision, accusing the council of selling them down the river.
'The stark reality is you wouldn't get as simple a planning permission if you putting up a house,' said a protester.
'They are facing only e11,000 in charges. If you were a farmer putting up a hayshed you'd be charged e5,000, or perhaps between e5,000 and e6,000 if you were building a house,'he said.
Michael O'Leary, spokesman for the Crossabeg Killurin Community Action Group, which represents 300 families, said everyone was surprised at the planning decision, but no meeting had yet been scheduled to chart the protest group's next move.
'I would expect it to go to An Bord Pleanala, but no decision has been made yet,' he said.
Mr. O'Leary, said locals had wanted to preserve Wexford's reputation as the Model county in agriculture and fishing.
'At the same time, we wanted to protect, preserve and enhance our historic and beautiful Slaney valley and this proposed 60 foot digester monster and its adjoining lagoon, which will look like a massive nuclear bunker established on the water's edge, will destroy our good reputation,' he said.
Devaluation
Concerns about noise, road damage, smell and the feared devaluation in local property prices were among issues raised by residents over the plans by NRGE Ltd. to build the anaerobic digester and gas purification system at Killurin.
It's undertstood the digester will initially process pig manure from two pig fattening units and turn it into fertiliser.
Mr. O'Leary said he feared the digester may process waste from all over the South East, 'and bring increasing problems of odour, pollution and damage to infrastructure and the local environment to the Killurin area'.
'A lagoon and proposed underground storage tanks which would hold more than two million gallons of slurry would be placed beside the Slaney water's edge,' said Mr. O'Leary.
While there had been plans to use methane gas from the old Killurin landfill for the proposed digester, it's understood that the tapping of gas from the site is not currently feasible.
The Crossabeg Killurin Action Group lodged objections with Wexford County Council on behalf of hundreds of families in the area, who though that with Killurin being wound down, their environment would be left without any intrusive future developments.
In a 24-page document citing EPA, EU and other expert sources, the Group had claimed the planning application by NRGE/Reenard Farms of Tipperary, contravened at least 15 sections of Wexford County Council's Development Plan along with EU directives and Government regulations.
'What is proposed is directly across the road from the old Killurin landfill site, thus replacing one dump with another,' said Mr. O'Leary.
