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[Press Release: August 8th, 2005] De Burca says Roadstone appeal of EPA decision on Blessington dump very disappointingGreen Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, has expressed her disappointment at a last minute appeal lodged by Roadstone against the recent decision of the Environmental Protection Agency not to grant a waste licence for a legal landfill on Roadstone lands at Blessington.. "This appeal is a bitter blow for the residents of Blessington who heaved an enormous sigh of relief when the EPA published its intended decision a month ago" says de Burca. "At last people thought that there would be an end to this sorry saga of the attempted legalisation of illegal dumps on Roadstone’s land. It is difficult to believe that we have the County Manager, Eddie Sheehy to thank for this whole situation. It was the Manager that directed Roadstone, by means of a Section 55 notice, to develop a lined landfill on the company’s lands at Blessington. This is why the company applied to the EPA for a waste licence in the first place". De Burca states that she hopes the EPA will stick by its original decision to reject Roadstone’s application and that it will not compromise in the face of political pressure from any quarters. "Roadstone is a politically very well connected company" says de Burca. "It would be unrealistic not to think that there will be political pressure on the EPA regarding the appeal lodged by the company. It is my hope that the EPA will remain firm and not enter into any compromise agreement with Roadstone". The Green Party councillor has also called for the Chairman of Wicklow County Council, Cllr Andrew Doyle, to call a Special Meeting of the council to allow councillors to question the Manager on his attitude to the Roadstone appeal. "The Chairman called a Special Meeting in July following the EPA decision to refuse the waste licence" says de Burca. "The meeting was very stage "managed and councillors were not allowed to ask the hard questions of the Manager. Now we really have something important to discuss at a Special Meeting and that is whether the Manager will withdraw the Section 55 notice he issued to Roadstone". De Burca says that If the Manager agrees to do this, Roadstone will have to go through the full planning process before any landfill can be developed on its lands. She says that at the moment, the Manager’s Section 55 notice is allowing the company to avoid the planning process completely and is depriving Blessington Residents of the opportunity to lodge objections to Wicklow County Council and Bord Pleanala. "I will be writing to the Chairman this week and asking him to call this Special Meeting to discuss the issue" says de Burca. "If he fails to do this then I would suggest that his agenda may be more about protecting the County Manager than getting important answers about what happens next concerning the proposed landfill on Roadstone’s lands".
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