Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 2

Written Answers. - Fish Kills.

John Gormley

Question:

125 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of fish kills notified to his Department to date in 1998; the number of fish stocks involved in each instance; the measures, if any, taken by his Department to reduce the incidence of fish kills in our inland waterways; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13845/98]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

Reports of fish kills from local authorities and fishery boards are collated by the Marine Institute's fisheries research centre. I understand that the Fisheries Research Centre has recorded 16 fish kills involving approximately 6,800 fish to date in 1998. The relevant details are set out in the following table. I share the Deputy's concern about the number of fish kills recorded to date in 1998. Primary responsibility to prevent pollution incidents rests with those engaged in activities that could entail a pollution risk. However, local authorities, as statutory pollution control authorities, have a key role in protecting water resources. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible in so far as activities licensed by the agency are concerned.

In view of my concern about the number and impact of pollution incidents during the summer of 1997, I wrote to local authorities in August 1997 urging them to intensify their efforts to identify potential pollution sources and to take appropriate follow-up action to eliminate the risks involved. The measures I outlined then continue to provide an effective basis for action to minimise damage from pollution. Local authorities were particularly asked to ensure that industrial effluent discharge licence conditions, operational practices and material-waste storage facilities are adequate to safeguard water resources. In relation to agriculture, I asked the authorities to pursue a programme of visits to farms and intensive livestock and poultry production units and to give special attention to the management of animal slurries, silage effluent and sheep dip facilities, including disposal arrangements. I also emphasised the need to ensure that water and sewage treatment plants are maintained and operated to design specification to prevent pollution.

With the onset of summer 1998 and the high risk period for water resources, I made a public appeal to all involved in activities entailing a pollution threat to adopt appropriate management practices to prevent pollution. I again wrote to local authorities to remind them of my concern to ensure that each authority actively pursues an anti-pollution programme and that potential water pollution risks should be assessed in line with the advice given in 1997. I also urged them to use the full range of powers and remedies available under the Water Pollution Acts, 1977 and 1990, including the provisions consistent with the "polluter pays" principle to deal with pollution incidents and risks. The provisions concerned cater for the recovery of costs associated with the prosecution of offenders, and the cost of measures to mitigate or remedy the damage done. They offer a mechanism to offset the effects of pollution and augment the deterrent value of penalties imposed by the courts.

Alongside my immediate concern to ensure that every effort is made to minimise the risk of pollution incidents, a broadly based and comprehensive strategy is in place to address the increasing levels of eutrophication in rivers and lakes. This strategy incorporates a wide range of measures to tackle phosphorus inputs to waters from sewage, industry and agriculture. In implementing the strategy, local authorities have been urged to adopt an integrated catchment based approach to the development and implementation of their pollution control policies.

The catchment strategy also involves a major investment by my Department in upgraded sewage treatment facilities throughout the country, including provision of phosphorus reduction facilities where warranted in light of local water quality conditions. Catchment based projects supported by the Cohesion Fund provide, in addition, for comprehensive monitoring and management systems which will enable pollution control strategies to be tailored to the particular needs of the local situation.

A wide range of measures is in place to address the environmental impacts of agriculture, including impacts on water quality. These include: nutrient management planning, promoted by Teagasc and local authorities as a key management tool in reducing phosphorus losses from farms; efforts to achieve greater uptake by farmers under the rural environment protection scheme, REPS; an improved package of measures has been approved by the EU Commission in respect of Natural Heritage Areas, NHAs, and commonages; improved capital allowances for targeted investment by farmers in pollution control measures; a targeted reduction in artificial P fertiliser usage over the next five years and detailed advice and recommendations in the code of good agricultural practice to protect waters from pollution by nitrates.

Date	Fisheries Region	River/Lake	Species	Number of fish
24/1/98	Southern	River Nore	Trout and stickleback	100
18/2/98-19/2/98	South-western	Tributary of Curaheen Cork	Trout and Eels	500
20/3/98	Northern	Lorette School Lake	Perch, Pike and Roach	97
26/3/98	Southern	Tributary of River Bride	Trout	200
14/4/98	South-western	Tramore River	Brown Trout	20
18/5/98-23/5/98	Northern	Bumerkly Lake, Cavan	Bream	41
19/5/98	Southern	Clonmore & River Suir to which it discharges	Trout, Eel, Salmon, Stoneloach & Stickleback	2,450
19/5/98	Eastern	Lough Ramor	Bream	50
20/5/98-27/5/98	Shannon	Lough Derg/Dromineer/ Terryglass	Perch	Unknown
21/5/98	Shannon	River Deel	Trout and Salmon	300
25/5/98	Western	Cloghbrack River	Brown Trout	Unknown
27/5/98	Eastern	Keeran River	Salmonids	1,000
28/5/98	Northern	Tributary of Inch Lake	Brown Trout	2
Mid-May-31/5/98	Northern	Dromore River Catchment	Roach	2,064
31/5/98	Northern	Derryvalley River	Salmon Fry Stickleback	Unknown
3/6/98	Shannon	Lough Gara	Bream and Roach	Unknown