Oral Hearing at Belmullet in license for government-backed refinery scheme

mayo | environment | other press Wednesday April 18, 2007 12:33 by IT Reader

Too many cops, not enough consultation

The oral hearing in Belmullet continues, with questions still unanswered about the large Garda presence in the hotel where the hearing is taking place, and then, the surprise revelation that the consultation process carried out by Shell and Mayo County Council on the subject of "cold-venting" did not include actually consulting with anyone who lives near the proposed refinery.

Mayo County Council are still not attending the hearing.

"Cold-venting" is when you release gas directly into the environment, rather than burning it off, which is called "flaring".

Gardaí stand watch over trucks moving surface peat from the site of the propesed refinery

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it has contacted the Garda over complaints about its presence at the Corrib gas oral hearing in north Mayo.

EPA senior inspector Frank Clinton has been in touch with the Garda, following concerns raised at the opening session of the oral hearing, an EPA spokeswoman said yesterday.

The EPA did not request a Garda presence at the public hearing, she said. However, Chief Supt Tony McNamara, head of the Mayo Garda division, said last night that he had received no complaints in relation to the level of Garda security at the hearing and he understood the EPA "was quite satisfied with the current level".

Gardaí were on duty yesterday morning for the second day of the hearing in the Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Belmullet, which is dealing with a pollution control licence for the terminal. Some 13 appeals to a preliminary integrated pollution prevention control (IPPC) licence have been lodged, including one by Shell E&P Ireland, lodged in relation to some of the conditions attached.

Complaints over Garda presence at Corrib hearing

Shell to Sea spokesman and appellant John Monaghan questioned the necessity of the Garda presence, and the chairman agreed to examine the issue.

A large number of gardaí are still deployed in the Erris area on behalf of the State, and the total cost to late January was €3.14 million, according to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

Independent TD Dr Jerry Cowley had criticised the Garda decision to deploy over 100 gardaí in the area, and has filed a Dáil question in relation to the latest cost.

Three Erris fishermen recently received summonses in relation to alleged incidents during protests at the Bellanaboy gas terminal late last year, and a Garda spokesman said more summonses may be issued.

The Garda also said seven arrests were made on and outside the terminal site since the weekend.

Dr Cowley expressed disappointment that Corrib gas partners, Shell and Statoil, have begun exploring a further area off the Mayo coast before a Government review of terms given to oil and gas exploration companies has been published.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy is due to deliver a key High Court judgment in relation to the Corrib gas project this week.

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Shell queried on plans to cold-vent gas at refinery

Áine Ryan

Shell E&P Ireland has been asked to provide detailed documentation of a consultation process the company claims it carried out with Mayo County Council and the community living near the proposed Bellanaboy refinery, regarding its decision to cold-vent gas rather than flare it.

On the second day of the Environmental Protection Agency's oral hearing into the issuing of an integrated pollution prevention licence, the chairman, Frank Clinton, observed to Shell representatives that "there isn't much in the way of supporting fact around this consulting process".

He was referring to a section of a statement made by one of its expert witnesses, Ian McRae, which said: "However, in the case of the Bellanaboy bridge terminal, the overriding influence in the decision to permit releases to be cold-vented is the commitment to the local community and the planning authority to reduce to a minimum the visual intrusion and disturbance that could arise from the operation of a flare, in what is a rural area."

The cold-venting of gas, usually methane, means it is released directly into the environment, without being burned.

There has been an ongoing debate over the fact that this proposed process was omitted from Shell's original environmental impact statement and later added as an addendum.

Imelda Moran said yesterday that since Shell had implicated Mayo County Council in this decision, it should be mandated to attend the hearing.

The chairman declined to do so.

Ms Moran also said that she had been involved in collecting 200 signatures within a five-kilometre radius of the proposed refinery, and all signatories said they had not been consulted about cold-venting.

"Without very clear and substantive information regarding the consultation process, I will have to take a very serious look at cold-venting," said the chairman. "This is one of the central issues and I won't forget about it."

When asked by appellant Tony Irwin if it would not be easier to simply move the discharge pipe farther out to sea, Prof Peter Matthiessen, an independent ecotoxicology consultant, highlighted the extra costs for Shell, saying that cost-benefits must be rationalised.

He added that "in essence" the pipe would need a robust monitoring regime no matter where it was situated.