Plans for the previously green lit Cnoc Buí Whiskey Distillery and Heritage Centre have been challenged by environmental charity, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE ) over concerns about the ‘proposed discharge of wastewater to ground’ in close proximity to a Natura 2000 site.
The group state that the challenge is rooted over concerns surrounding the proposed site for the Cnoc Buí Whiskey Distillery and Heritage Centre, in Roisín na Mainiach / Rusheennamanagh, which they state is in ‘very close proximity to a Natura 2000 site’ and the consequences of the proposed discharge of wastewater to ground in the area required, ‘at the very least’, an examination as to whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is required under the Planning Acts.
Natura 2000 is a network of core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species and some rare natural habitats, spanning across 27 EU countries, in an effort to ensure the long-term survival of the continent’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats. The proposed site for the distillery is close to two previously established conservation sites; the Kilkieran Bay and the Islands Special Area Conversation (SAC ) which is approximately 10 metres from the boundary of the subject site, and Carna Heath and Bog Natural Heritage Area (NHA ).
Údaras na Gaeltachta submitted the plans to construct the Buí Whiskey Distillery on behalf of business, Drioglann na Gaillimhe Teoranta, which is figure-headed by former Galway hurler, Joe Connolly.
Waste water treatment concerns
The appeal lodged by FIE to the distillery’s planning draws attention to what the organisation describes as an ‘unsuitable location’ and ‘authorisation of the existing wastewater treatment plant’, following the discovery in planning applications by FIE that contrary to ‘previous commitments’, there was ‘no discharge licence in place and consequently no monitoring data available’. The planning application also noted that the original percolation ‘T’ test could not be undertaken at the location because of a high water table and shallow bedrock, with the existing soil ‘completely saturated’.
After examining the planning file, FIE told An Bord Pleanála that, ‘On the basis of the original consultant’s report the original waste water treatment should not have been permitted’.
The organisation says that their appeal highlights previous concerns lodged by Galway Co Council in a request for further information regarding the, ‘absence of loading rates to on-site wastewater treatment system, detailed drawings of plant and polishing filter, and treatment of process wastewater and/or disposal to determine if the design of the WWTP has the capacity to accommodate the proposed development’.
Though FIE state that the material submitted in response to the further information request leaves a lot to be desired.
Director of FIE, Tony Lowes, said, “The material submitted in response to this further information request does not address in any meaningful way what was sought by the Council yet Galway County Council proceeded to grant this new permission.”
More calls for help from Galway than any other county
According to the appeal, FIE is greatly concerned by the approach of Galway County Council on this and other developments in sensitive areas of the county. Recently, the environmental charity sought a judicial review of the riverbed clearance near the bridge, due to Galway County Council’s use of 1949 Local Government (Works ) Act, to approve of emergency flood relief works on Kylemore Bridge at the Dawros River. The Dawros River is home to one of the few remaining habitats of the freshwater pearl mussel, a native species thought to have been on the brink of extinction.
The group stated that the Council’s use of this act was in breach of EU laws designed to protect the environment, and that permission for the works should have been sought under the 2000 Development and Planning Act. The result of this challenge saw Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI ) become a ‘notice party’ and eight criminal charges for pollution from the riverbed clearance. The case is due before the High Court on October 2, 2023.
Lowes says that it is vital that further development plans for Galway must be in accordance with environmental law, “We have more calls from people seeking help in County Galway than any county, in part because of the incredible biodiversity of the county but in part because of consistent failures in the county’s planning and administrative standards. The desire to achieve economic development in the county must be achieved in a manner which is in accordance with the Council’s legal obligations under environmental law.”
