The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prosecuted Arrabawn Co-Operative Society Limited for breaching emission limit values into a stream in Tipperary.
At a hearing at Nenagh District Court in Co. Tipperary yesterday (Thursday, September 12), Arrabawn Co-Operative Society Limited pleaded guilty to breaches of conditions of its Industrial Emissions Licence.
Many of the breaches are in relation to emissions to the Clareen Stream, which is a tributary to the Nenagh river.
One of the breaches was failing to notify the EPA by both telephone and either email or webform as soon as practicable after the breakdown of key environmental abatement, control or monitoring equipment in June 2023.
Conditions of the licence were breached on six different occasions which the EPA set out below:
- Failing on or about June 13, 2023 to comply with condition 5.1, in that emissions to water, namely to the Clareen Stream, at emission point reference no. SW2 exceeded the Emission Limit Value (ELV) for suspended solids as set out in schedule B.2. of the said licence.
- Failing on or about August 9, 2023 to comply with condition 5.1, in that emissions to water, namely the Clareen Stream, at emission point reference no. SW2 exceeded the ELV for suspended solids as set out in schedule B.2. of the said licence;
- Failing on or about July 23, 2023 to comply with condition 5.1, in that emissions to water, namely the Clareen Stream, at emission point reference no. SW2 exceeded the ELV for ammonia as set out in schedule B.2. of the said licence;
- Failing on or about August 9, 2023 to comply with condition 5.1, in that emissions to water, namely the Clareen Stream, at emission point reference no. SW2 exceeded the ELV for ammonia as set out in schedule B.2. of the said licence;
- Failing on or about June 20, 2023 to comply with condition 5.1, in that emissions to water, namely the Clareen Stream, at emission point reference no. SW2 exceeded the ELV for total phosphorous as set out in Schedule B.2. of the said licence.
- Failing on or about June 6, 2023 to comply with condition 11.3, in that they did fail to notify the EPA by both telephone and either email or webform as soon as practicable after the occurrence of an incident, namely the breakdown of key environmental abatement, control or monitoring equipment, which incident occurred on or about the third day of June 2023.
Yesterday, Judge Harris convicted Arrabawn Co-Operative Society Limited on the above charges and imposed fines on each charge.
The charges ranged from €1,500 to €2,500 and totalled €13,000 in all. Agency costs were also awarded.