Limerick City and County Council has lodged an objection to the EPA licence granted to Irish Cement to allow the co-incineration of waste at the Mungret plant (POO29-06). Prior to the proposed determination of the licence, Limerick City and County Council had made a detailed submission on the licence application on 20 September 2018.
The issues raised were generally addressed in further information requests issued by the EPA.
One of the issues raised by the Council was the need to impose an emission limit on Total Organic Carbon (TOC). A limit on TOC is included in the proposed determination. However, the limit proposed is 40mg/Nm3. This represents a derogation from the limit of 10mg/Nm3 specified in Annex VI (part 4, paragraph 2.3) of the Industrial Emissions Directive.
The rationale given for this derogation is Irish Cement’s inability to comply with the tighter limit and the fact that other cement factories operate under similar derogations. However, the reasons why the company cannot comply have not been explained and the significance of the derogation has not been addressed.
As further clarification cannot be sought at this point and as, in the interests of clarity and transparency, a detailed explanation of why this derogation is necessary and its significance should be available on the file, Limerick City and County Council intends to object to this condition of the proposed licence.
Given the level of public interest in, and concern about, the proposed co-incineration of waste at this facility, Limerick City and County Council will also be requesting that an oral hearing be held.
Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Michael Sheahan welcomed the objection. “I think it is very important that Limerick City and County Council objects to the licence being granted. It is important that members of the public can have confidence in the regulator to properly oversee the facility at Mungret,” the Mayor said.