DE BURCA MAKES FRESH CALL FOR RESIGNATION OF COUNCIL'S DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Councillor de Burca was responding to correspondence which she has recently received, indicating that the Environmental Protection Agency had visited Arklow site in late July, at the request of the Department of the Environment.

" I have in my possession correspondence from the EPA to Wicklow County Council dated 31st July which describes a site visit made by an EPA inspector to the compost facility on 1st July" she says. "The report identified a significant number of non-compliances with the waste permit at the facility and the inspector stated his concern at the 'level of contaminants' in the waste accepted at the site for composting".

Councillor de Burca claims that since local residents first drew attention to the illegal dumping in March of this year, the issue has been repeatedly raised at every council meeting. "In fact at one of our meetings in May every councillor present voted in favour of revoking the waste permit of the owner of the compost facility" she says. "Yet Michael Nicholson has refused to act on the councillors wishes and, in fact, went so far as to suggest that the whole issue was 'much ado about nothing' and shouldnt be raised at a council meeting".

Councillor de Burca also expressed her concern at the fact that the EPA wrote to Wicklow County Council on 27th May seeking information about the measures taken to reduce emissions from the Arklow facility at that time, and that the Agency still had not received a reponse to that letter by 31st July.

"Clearly we are now looking at a local authority that has become a law unto itself" says de Burca. "It ignores illegal activity involving gross acts of environmental vandalism, despite the fact that it has responsibilities under the waste and planning legislation to act to prevent such illegal activities, to minimise their effects and to prosecute those responsible. We have a Director for Environmental Services who not just ignores the wishes of local people and the expressed wishes of the elected representatives but also the formal requests for information made to him by the EPA".

Councillor de Burca claims that she has lost all confidence in the Director for Environmental Services of Wicklow County Council and that he should "do the decent thing" and immediately resign from his position.

For further information please contact Deirdre de Burca on 086 8061450 or email deburca@wicklowgreens.org.