Friday 13 April 2007

Code on illegal dumps launched

A CODE of practice on how illegal dumps should be made safe has been launched by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Environmental Risk Assessment for Unregulated Waste Disposal Sites will show local authorities how to identify illegal dumping sites, help assess potential risks and recommend measures to clean them up.

Environment Minister Dick Roche, who launched the code of practice yesterday, said that funding would be made available under the National Development Plan to help councils remediate former landfill sites.

"The ball is now in the court of local authorities in progressing the risk assessment of relevant sites and determining any remediation measures that might be necessary," he said.

Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement, said that an inventory of dangerous sites could be compiled and risks to the environment assessed.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

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