Allister presses Environment Minister for Action
19 September 2008
Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister has urged Environment Minister Sammy Wilson to take urgent action in a Lurgan pollution case, where discharges from a sewage treatment works have polluted a local river, and contaminated nearby farmland.
The MEP said,
“The situation for landowners with land adjacent to the Closet River in Lurgan is untenable, as a result of frequent discharges coming from the Combined Sewer overflow of Ballinacor Waste Water Treatment Works. Raw sewage is being discharged into the Closet River on a regular basis, simply because Northern Ireland Water does not have adequate storm tank provision in place to cope with peak times.”
“In a response I have received from DOE Minister Sammy Wilson, discharges from the Works can be made on a regular basis, and yet are not deemed to be in breech of discharge consents issued by EHS, an agency of his own Department. Meanwhile, farmland has become contaminated, with increasing areas of land having to be taken out of food production purposes. Indeed, the final straw for farmers is that Rivers Agency is not able to carry out a cleaning operation on the river because of the extent of sewage sludge present in the watercourse.”
“While work to upgrade the Waste Water Treatment Works at Ballinacor is underway, affected landowners deserve a complete end to a situation where their land is apparently seen as a dumping ground. It falls squarely on Environment Minister Sammy Wilson to ensure this disgraceful state of affairs is resolved”.
ENDS
