Anger over meat plant plan to run 7.2km waste water pipe into the Boyne river

SALLY HARDING

Outraged residents in Beauparc have voiced their concern over a proposed 7.2km pipeline that if given the go ahead will discharge 400,000 litres of treated waste water into the River Boyne each day potentially threatening a species of ancient fish older than the dinosaurs.

A planning application has been lodged by Dawn Meats to Meath County Council that would see the construction of an industrial pipeline running from their site at Beauparc through the parish and discharge treated wastewater into the river Boyne at the Cotton Mills.

Residents of Beauparc, Hayestown, Dollardstown, Seneschalstown and Yellow Furze came out in force at weekend to protest against the move raising a number of health and environmental concerns over the plans.

A Facebook page set up to highlight the issue called ‘Save the Boyne’ currently has 5,500 followers.

A petition on change.org with the same title has received 1700 signatures.

Hayestown resident Padraic Gilligan explains why the locality is against the development that he claims threatens local wildlife and poses a risk to water quality in the area.

“The river Boyne is a Special Area of Conservation and home to a number of EU protected species.

“The environmental impact study submitted by Dawn Meats in support of the application states it cannot guarantee water quality during the eight-month construction stage.”

Mr Gilligan pointed out that any reduction in water quality could have a detrimental impact on the local ecosystem.

“Residents are very concerned that this proposed development could seriously impact on the local otter population, a protected species, which has declined 17.3% in the Boyne catchment in period 1980-2010 according to the National Otter Survey 2010-2012.

“There are a number of otter holts in the vicinity of the proposed discharge point.”

Residents are also concerned that if there is an accidental outage at the meat plant this could lead to a serious environmental incident in the River Boyne.

“The previous owners of this meat plant were fined €5,000 in 2017 for a serious pollution incident, the Environmental Protection Agency described the event as “unauthorised emission of untreated slaughter process effluent was discharged to a surface water drain from the installation,” commented Padraic.

Separate to the obvious environmental issues residents were shocked to discover the pipeline would be adjacent to one of the proposed greenway routes as set out in the Boyne Greenway and Navigation Restoration Scheme which is currently in the public consultation phase.

Pat O’Toole Chairperson of the Boyne Angling Catchement Association points out the group has worked tirelessly to improve the habitat and spawning areas on the Boyne.

“Down the river from the proposed point of discharge, from Donore to Marry’s Weir is one of the longest and deepest stretches for holding salmon on the River Boyne. In low water conditions, they are very vulnerable to any pollution.

“These fish are our breeding stock and cannot be replaced.

“Lampreys are one of the oldest species on this earth and are still found in the Boyne, they are older than the dinosaurs, we can’t let them be wiped out.”

Local Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for EU Affairs, Thomas Byrne said: “It’s my opinion, based on the documentation submitted to Meath County Council that the developers have not adequately demonstrated that the proposed development would not have an impact on drinking water quality, aquatic flora and fauna, the fishery industry or upon water-based leisure activities and amenities due to a deterioration in water quality of the River Boyne, during either the construction or operational phase of this project.

“I would strongly urge all local residents who live near the Boyne, or indeed enjoy the Boyne River to familiarise themselves with this planning application.”

Aontu representative for Slane Peter Whelan points out in his submission that Dunbia which was sold to Dawn Meats in 2016 received a licence from the EPA, the same licence number is quoted on the planning application

“Having read the report from the EPA on issuing the license, it clearly stated that the wastewater was to be taken away by tankers to a larger treatment plant in the capital.

"More importantly the EPA also said that they accepted there was possibility of accidental discharges of effluent, but because the installation was 5km from the nearest European site, that it was not a threat to the Special Area of Conservation.

“The River Boyne is the source of all drinking water for Slane, Duleek, Donore and surrounding areas which makes it even more serious.

In a statement Dawn Meats said it is committed to environmental sustainability across its entire business and the proposed development at Dawn Slane is consistent with environmental best practise. It went on to say that:

"The multi-million investment in waste water treatment at the Dawn Meats site will have a positive impact on the wider Painestown area through the removal of tanker traffic from local roads and third-party studies have risk assessed no negative impact on the river Boyne or surrounding habitats."

"This planning application relates to amendments to the approved effluent plant design, an extension to the approved wastewater treatment facility at Dawn Meats (Slane), and the construction of a rising main pipeline route to the River Boyne alone.

Dawn Meats said that the move is a multi-million euro investment in a state of the art water treatment plant which will produce "compliant water," and that the site is licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "who engage with the site on an ongoing basis."

Also stated in their response was that the proposed development would have a "positive impact upon the local economy by providing employment during the construction phase and by contributing through direct spending of goods and services in the area."

Concluding it said:

"A Natura Impact Statement was prepared as part of the application process. Due to recommended control measures and standard practice during the construction and operational phases, it is considered that there would be no significant risks to the conservation objectives of the habitats and species for which the River Boyne SAC and SPA have been designated."

Meath County Council said it does not comment on live applications.

Planning application reference 21424 is open for public consultation until 8th April, with a decision date of 29th April, subject to no further information being required.