Fingal County Council has published a report on the fourth phase of public consultation undertaken for the Greater Dublin Drainage project. The report entitled ‘Greater Dublin Drainage Public Consultation Report on the Issues to be considered in the Environmental Impact Statement’ details feedback received from local people and other stakeholders on issues to be considered in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be prepared for the Project. This round of public consultation followed the publication in June 2013 of the ‘Greater Dublin Drainage Alternative Site Assessment and Route Selection (Phase 4): Final Preferred Site and Routes’.
A total of 13,491 submissions were received by the Project Team during this fourth phase of public consultation which ran from June 10th – August 2nd. The Consultation Report is available to view and download free of charge at www.greaterdublindrainage.com. It is also available for inspection at the planning counters of Fingal County Council at Swords and Blanchardstown; at Fingal Libraries in Blanchardstown, Malahide and Baldoyle; and at Dublin City Council Area Office in Coolock and libraries at Coolock and Donaghmede.
Members of the Project Team will be available to meet with members of the public and answer any questions they may have in relation to the project as follows:

• Tues 21st Jan 2014: At Dublin City Council, Coolock North Central Area Office, Northside Civic Centre, Bunratty Road, Coolock, Dublin 17 10am – 4pm

• Wed 22nd Jan 2014: At Baldoyle library, The Mall (Off Strand Road), Baldoyle, Dublin 13 10am – 4pm

As part of the EIS process now underway the Project Team is undertaking studies and considering relevant issues relating to potential effects on the environment that may occur as a result of the project, such as human beings, landscape, visual impact, traffic management and access, effects on air and water quality. The EIS will also contain the Project Team’s responses to all relevant issues raised during public consultation.
“I would like to thank the public for engaging in this latest stage of the consultation process.  In particular, I welcome all the comments and submissions which will now be considered by the Project Team.  I would encourage people to continue to make contact with the Project Team and have any questions answered” says Peter O’Reilly, Project Engineer, Fingal County Council. “The proposed plant at Clonshagh will be between 3 and 15 metres high, surrounded by landscaping. It will be designed, built and operated to the highest modern technological standards that will comply with all relevant EU and Irish legislation to ensure it is a good neighbour to the surrounding communities. In addition, the project will require a licence from the EPA to protect the environment and ensure that only wastewater treated to the appropriate standards will be discharged 6 kilometres out to sea.”

“We plan to submit an application for planning approval to An Bord Pleanala in 2014 and that will be followed by an additional statutory phase of public consultation run by the Board,” says Peter O’Reilly. “After that we will hold a procurement process to appoint a team to Design, Build and Operate the project and construction would not be expected to start until at least 2018.”

For more information you can contact the project team at info@greaterdublindrainage.ie or by Lo-call telephone 1890 44 55 67.

About the Greater Dublin Drainage Project:
• The Greater Dublin Drainage project is needed to future proof the development needs of the Greater Dublin Area by providing the vital wastewater infrastructure needed to enable more jobs and inward investment as well as for schools, hospitals and homes.

• The drainage system in the Greater Dublin Area is an integrated regional system. The majority of Fingal’s wastewater currently goes to the wastewater treatment plant at Ringsend but we know from extensive studies that we will not have enough drainage and wastewater treatment capacity to cater for future growth in the Greater Dublin Area if we do not build an additional regional treatment plant.

• Every measure is being taken to ensure that there are no adverse impacts on any aspect of the environment in developing the project. The conditions of the planning approval and EPA licence, if awarded, will ensure that this is the case.  Under normal conditions, no untreated wastewater will be discharged from the proposed plant; wastewater will undergo the necessary treatment to meet the conditions of the EPA licence prior to being discharged 6km out to sea from Baldoyle Bay.  The level to which the wastewater will be treated will ensure the water quality standards required by strict EU and national legislation can be achieved. These include the EU Water Framework Directive, Bathing Water Quality Regulations and Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations. This will safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

• Rigorous odour and noise limits at the boundary of the site will be set in the planning conditions and these will have to be achieved. Modern wastewater treatment plants are designed to minimise the risk of odour emissions; they are covered and have extensive odour, emissions and noise controls in place and this will be the case with the Greater Dublin Drainage project.  Odours will be collected via pipes and treated to achieve necessary limit values and to avoid impact on the surrounding area.

• The 23 hectare site will accommodate a range of structures between 3 and 15 metres (10-50 feet) high, surrounded by extensive landscaping (trees, shrubs and grass) which will minimise any visual impact. The perimeter of the site identified for the proposed wastewater treatment plant (WwTP) is at least 300 metres from the nearest existing neighbouring house or other sensitive receptor such as schools, nursing homes, etc.

• One large regional plant will have a lesser impact on the environment than a number of smaller plants discharging to ground/surface waters across the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). There would also be greater constraints and a higher number of communities impacted by building several wastewater treatment plants in a highly urbanised landscape, compared to the requirements for one regional plant. Furthermore, future jobs and new industries are dependent on a new Regional WwTP working in conjunction with Ringsend and all the other WwTPs in the Region.

• The proposed wastewater treatment plant will be designed, built and operated to the highest technological standards and international best practice and this will include a rigorous maintenance regime; it will have built-in maintenance capacity, which can be utilised should any malfunction occur at the plant. A plant the size we are proposing would also have a back-up power generator in place.  Furthermore, storm tanks will be located on the site and within the system in the upstream catchments during times of significant storms or should any incident occur.