| The Minister for Environment, Heritage
and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche T.D., has launched the
EPA's Code of Practice on Environmental Risk Assessment for
Unregulated Waste Disposal Sites.
This Code of Practice takes on board comments submitted during
the public consultation late last year and sets out a risk-based
assessment procedure that provides for -
- the identification of historic unregulated landfills;
- the assessment of potential risks associated with them
- and
- the identification of appropriate remedial measures/corrective
actions.
Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA's Office of Environmental
Enforcement, said - "The Code of Practice provides a
framework for local authorities to compile an inventory of
historic waste disposal sites and to have environmental risks
at these sites assessed. The Code represents a significant
part of Ireland's response to the European Court of Justice
judgement against Ireland[1]
and incorporates the principles of best international practice
in the field of risk assessment."
This Code of Practice has been prepared by the EPA at the
request of the Minister, following his Ministerial Direction
(WIR 04/05) of the 3rd May 2005.
For background information - Click
Here
To download a copy of the Code of Practice - Click
Here
Copies of the Code of Practice may also be obtained from
the EPA Publications Office, McCumiskey House, Richview, Dublin
14 - Tel: 01-2680100.
This code of practice - published by the EPA - sets out how
local authorities can -
- Identify sites that are -
o known to have been used for waste disposal/recovery
and have them placed on a register
o suspected to have been used for waste disposal/recovery
and have them investigated further, prior to placing them
on a register.
- Put the identified sites through a risk-screening process,
which allows the highest risk sites to be prioritised and
site investigations to be carried out in a timely manner.
- Carry out detailed risk assessments, which will inform
the remedial measures or corrective actions necessary for
each of the sites at risk in a prioritised manner.
The document, will be of interest to -
- Local Authorities
- Consultants who may be involved in the carrying out of
environmental risk assessments - and
- Academics and others involved in risk assessment.
[1] The European Court of Justice judgement
against Ireland refers to case C-494/01.
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