Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has recently sent a written communication to Bord na Móna calling on the organisation to stop the removal of its 950,000t peat stockpiles.

In a letter to the organisation, FIE is seeking to file a court case on the grounds of what it claims is as a lack of planning permission for peat extraction conducted by Bord na Móna.

Correspondence between FIE and Bord na Móna is currently ongoing before the case is brought to court, FIE has said.

According to the letter, FIE claims that Bord na Móna is, “on an ongoing basis”, “excavating and moving” its peat stockpiles to places including Edenderry Power Station in Co. Offaly for burning; Derrinlough briquette factory in Co. Offaly; and Cúil na Móna in Co. Laois for the production of horticultural peat products.

“The excavation and removal of peat stockpiles amounts to ‘works’ within the Planning and Development Act 2000 that itself require planning permission, and may also require EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] and/or appropriate assessment,” FIE said.

In its letter, the environmental charity has called on Bord na Móna and its contractors to confirm that they have “ceased all excavation and removal of peat stockpiles”, or it “will proceed to seek an injunction under section 160 of the Planning and Development Act 2000”.

Bord na Móna confirmed to Agriland that the organisation has “permanently ceased all peat extraction on its lands in January 2021, ensuring it is in full compliance with its legal obligations concerning the extraction of peat from its lands”.

In its statement, Bord na Móna added that “the company has been advised that the movement of milled peat stockpiles does not require planning permission”. 

“The company continues to operate under and in accordance with its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licences, that are granted and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Those regulate peat-stockpile management, including weather protection, loading and removal from its lands,” according to Bord na Móna.