I decided to take the opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment because of my deep concerns about the decision to locate the outfall pipe from the proposed new sewage treatment plant at Tramore in the Rinnashark channel on Saleen Beach, and I would like to thank you, a Cheann Comhairle for giving me this opportunity. I feel that a terrible mistake is being made and that the time to do something about it is now before it becomes too late. If not, I very much fear that I will be coming back to the Minister at some stage in the future and saying to him "I told you so" and I certainly do not want that to happen.
In order to try to understand why the present proposal causes such a problem one has to know what is actually in this area. The Tramore sandhills have been building up over the past centuries as a result of the sand being carried in by the prevailing winds and onshore currents. With the Back Strand, this area has been recognised as being of national importance as a conservation area and several rare plants are stated to be present there. According to local knowledge, a mass grave used to bury the dead from the 1816 shipwreck of the Seahorse is situated in the area.
The Back Strand is a large low lying area which lies to the north of the main beach and is completely covered at high tide. It has a delicately balanced ecology containing flora and fauna of significance. It is included in the Irish and European Commission inventories of bird sites in Ireland. The Office of Public Works have requested the agreement of Waterford County Council to agree to its designation as a nature reserve.
The sand hills and the Back Strand are an internationally and nationally important area of scientific interest. The ecological system of the area is so finely balanced that any tampering would destroy the natural habitat of important feeding grounds of migrant birds. It is an EC Directive that by 1993 all sensitive areas be protected. This area falls into that category.
Under the EC Birds Directive member states are obliged to designate a network of special protection areas in which endangered rare and migratory birds and their habitats are protected. However, the Birds Directive also indicates that other means of protecting populations are necessary. I understand that the European Commission in April 1991 commenced infringement proceedings against Ireland under Article 4 of the Birds Directive for its failure to take adequate measures to protect the habitat of the wild birds at Tramore Back Strand.
When I say that this is also an area of archaeological interest Members will realise how important it is that this area be preserved. I am very much afraid that if this present proposal does go ahead, all of this will be ruined.
At present raw sewage is discharged totally untreated into Tramore Bay 300 metres from the shore. Despite this, fortnightly monitoring of the water since 1978 has shown the water quality consistently meeting both the Irish and the EC mandatory maximum levels for faecal coliforms. The beach environment is in very good condition despite this discharge. I cannot understand why this present pipe cannot be extended to either 1500 metres or 2000 metres offshore where the discharge would be easily dispersed. One of the arguments used by the consultants against the bay outfall was that it could be damaged by boats trawling the area or ships being blown into the bay during storms. I have checked with fishermen in Dunmore East and they tell me that this is nonsense. Another reason put forward was the costs involved. I cannot understand how laying a pipe on the seabed could be more costly than what is proposed.
The proposal at present is to run a new pipe for four kilometres from the new treatment plant to the discharge point. It will also be necessary to construct some sort of a holding tank because it is planned that effluent will only be discharged on an outgoing tide. I fail to see how this could be cheaper than what I am suggesting, but in any event I do not think it will work.
One of the most significant points to come out of the report as prepared by the consultants for Waterford County Council is that no results were available for periods when southerly or southwesterly winds were blowing. One wonders if this biased approach is totally contrary to the concept of the environmental impact statement.
What happens in the event of the malfunction of the treatment plant? This apparently is not uncommon. In that instance raw sewage would be pumped into the channel and on the floodtide would return to the Back Strand where it would cause immense damage to the shellfish population.
