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February meeting 2011

Chairperson:

  • Dominic Keating, Inagh Development Co Ltd

Committee Members:

  • Brian Fitzgerald, Local Resident
  • Joe Barry, Cloonanaha NS
  • John Longe, Local Resident
  • Martin Queally, Local Resident
  • Michael Hehir, Local Resident
  • Katie Lewis, Inagh N.S.
  • Perry Long, Local Resident
  • Sheila Mc Tigue, Mike Mc Tigue Community Centre
  • Tom Long, Local Resident
  • John O’Loughlin, Local Resident
  • Cllr Joe Arkins

Council Officials:

  • Paul Moroney
  • Maeve Ryan
  • Frances Mc Namara

Absent:

  • Patrick O’Halloran, Local Resident
  • James Keane, Clare County Council (Apologies)
  • Cllrs Martin Conway, Michael Hillery, Richard Nagle & Michael Kelly, Clare County Council

Main Points:

7.00 pm Annual General Meeting:

The Election of Chairperson & Vice Chairperson was dealt with first on the Agenda.

Election of Chairperson & Vice Chairperson:

Dominic Keating said that he had held the position of Chairperson for the last two years and was now stepping down from the position. He thanked all members for their co-operation during his time as Chairperson.   He invited nominations for the position of a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for the coming year. Martin Queally proposed Michael Hehir for the position of Chairperson; this was seconded by John O’Loughlin.  Michael Hehir proposed Dominic Keating for the position of Vice Chairperson and this was seconded by Martin Queally. Both members accepted the positions. Michael Hehir then chaired the meeting.

 

Report on Operation of Landfill and Committee issues for 2010: 

Paul Moroney outlined the main issues in the report on the Operation of Landfill and Committee issues for 2010, which was circulated to members before the meeting commenced. The main event which occurred during 2010 was the decision of Clare County Council not to proceed with the development of phase 4 of the landfill. It is envisaged that landfilling will cease at the Facility in late 2011.  As part of the closure of the landfill, Clare County Council will have to prepare a Closure, Restoration and Aftercare Management Plan (CRAMP). This plan should be completed by staff in-house.

7.15 pm Main Meeting:

Minutes of meeting held 3rd November 2010:

  • Proposed by John O’Loughlin
  • Seconded by Dominic Keating

Matters Arising from Minutes:

Perry Long asked if the proposal to divert water from the civic amenity area of the facility had progressed. Maeve Ryan said that the EPA had approved the request for the first stage, which is the higher level of the Civic Amenity site.   Material storage at the higher level is limited to glass and plastic bottles, tetrapaks and metal cans, similar to bring banks all over the county.  All potentially hazardous materials stored at the higher level (eg waste paints, waste oils etc), are held in self-bunded containers; the contents of these bunds are pumped to the leachate tank.  Diversion of stormwater from part of the lower level of the Civic Amenity site will be applied for at a later stage.

Perry Long asked if there was progress on the Forestry Management Plan since the last meeting. Paul Moroney outlined that there was no progress since the last meeting, but that a number of related issues were currently being explored. Paul Moroney advised that Clare County Council had been approached by a number of companies with the idea of producing biomass. He said that this issue was in the early stage of negotiations and would be subject to EPA approval.

Katie Lewis thanked members for allowing a relaxation of the Standing Orders, giving her the opportunity to remain as a member of the Community Liaison Monitoring Committee after missing the last three meetings.

Odour Management:

Maeve Ryan stated there had been problems with odour at the facility during the months of October to January. This was caused by the length of time that the cell was open, as it was open for seventeen months due to the difficulty in securing customers. John O’Loughlin said that the odour was particularly bad around Christmas and that it was predominantly of gas. Maeve Ryan explained that during the extremely cold weather that the pipes were freezing, making it difficult to extract gas, but that the main problem was due to the length of time that the cell was open.

Paul Moroney said that Clare County Council is committed to filling the current cell as soon as possible and the Council has entered into deals with Waste Collectors for 2011 to ensure that this happens.

Perry Long asked that if there was any possibility of the landfill going on fire similar to the situation that happened in Kildare recently. Maeve Ryan said that the possibility of this was very low. The Central Waste Management Facility landfill is fully lined with continuous gas extraction.  The gas field is balanced at least once per week which ensures that oxygen is not drawn into the cells and that optimum levels of methane are extracted.   The Kildare landfill appears to be a very different type of facility.  Paul Moroney added that fire in the landfill is considered as part of the Risk Assessment carried out for the facility and procedures are in place to protect against such an event.

Correspondence:

Perry Long queried a number of items on the Correspondence List including correspondence relating to the proposed irrigation system, elevated surface water, the SCADA system and the Draft Operating Procedure 22. Maeve Ryan responded to each of these queries.

Any Other Business:

Paul Moroney advised that Clare County Council is obliged to report to the EPA every quarter regarding the percentage of Biological Municipal Waste (BMW) received at the landfill.  The target percentage for each landfill is set at 47%. Clare County Council received 48% at the Central Waste Management Facility and Management of the facility are very pleased with this result.

Perry Long congratulated Paul Moroney and his daughter Aoife on their recent performance in the All Ireland Talent Show.

Date for next meeting:

The date for the next meeting is the 2nd March 2011 at 7.00 pm.  The meeting concluded at 8.00 pm.

After the meeting Joe Barry informed Frances Mc Namara that he will no longer be representing Cloonanaha National School at the Community Liaison Monitoring Committee meetings and that the new representative will be Michael Mahony, Booladuff, Inagh.

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Content Last Updated/Reviewed: 05/05/11