A Limerick farmer has launched a High Court case in a bid to challenge permission for the expansion of facilities at a nearby factory over concerns about alleged stormwater discharge by it and others operating at the same industrial estate.
Tom Ryan says his farm at Ballynoe, Mungret, has always frequently flooded due to water levels in the nearby Barnakyle River which, he claims, has increased outflow due to stormwater discharged into a feeder canal from Raheen Industrial Estate.
Following prompting by him, he alleges, Limerick City and County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency and IDA (Investment Development Agency) Ireland, which manages the industrial estate, began to investigate the water quality.
They have established there are pollutants discharging into Loughmore Canal but have not yet established who is responsible for this, he claims.
Mr Ryan’s High Court judicial review has been brought over An Bord Pleanála’s grant of permission in September to major US chipmaker Analog Devices International for the construction of a liquid hydrogen storage tank, alterations to equipment and associated works at Ballynoe Road in the industrial park.
He is also challenging the board’s approval last August for significant extensions by Analog at the same site.
Analog announced last May that it will invest €630 million in its research and development manufacturing plant in Limerick, creating 600 local jobs.
A few years ago, Mr Ryan says, he became concerned about the quality of water discharging onto his lands during flooding periods, as he noticed a whitish residue and his cattle getting sick.
Some of his herd developed growths on their faces, could not eat, and had to be put down, he says.
The vet was unable to identify the cause, but Mr Ryan says he believes it was due to alleged discharges from the industrial estate.
Both permissions to Analog are invalid, he claims, because the board misdirected itself in law as to whether an environmental impact assessment was required in considering part of the development’s effects or the cumulative effects of these works together with other developments in the area.
There is a further invalidation to the expansion approval due to the board’s belief that monitoring of stormwater discharge under an integrated pollution control licence worked as a mitigation measure that would avoid adverse effects on the integrity of the Shannon Estuary special protection area.
He alleges the board failed to have proper regard to the local development plan when making its decision on the expansion.
Mr Ryan’s case was entered into the High Court’s commercial planning and environmental list this week.
On the application of his senior counsel, James Devlin, instructed by FP Logue solicitor Eoin Brady, Mr Ryan also secured permission from Mr Justice Richard Humphreys to pursue his claim against An Bord Pleanála and various State parties, who were not opposed to the case entering the fast-track list.
The EPA, a notice party in the case, was also neutral on entry to the list, its solicitor, Rory Ferguson of Fieldfisher, told the court.
There was no answer in court from Analog, IDA Ireland or the local council, which are also notice parties.
In a sworn statement, Mr Ryan says flooding of his lands has always occurred, and the Office of Public Works carries out an arterial drainage scheme in the area.
However, alleged discharge from the industrial estate entering a nearby canal, which eventually feeds into the Barnakyle River, has led to an increase in outflow and renewed flooding, he alleges.
He now believes the alleged discharges from the industrial estate are damaging his cattle, lands and livelihood and should be properly assessed before planning permission for new developments at the estate is granted.
He says he has spent many years trying to get the issue of water pollution addressed by the appropriate authorities “to no avail”.
He is not against development at the industrial estate, having seen the benefits employment there has brought.
The case will return to court in two weeks.
