‘Conspicuous' lack of law enforcement on illegal large-scale peat extraction
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Agency has said that local authorities are 'conspicuous in their lack of enforcement' of environmental law when it comes to operators of illegal, large-scale peat extraction.
The EPA has investigated 38 sites across seven counties where large-scale commercial peat extraction is being carried out without any of the necessary authorisations from the local authorities.
The EPA said these are 'flagrant violations' of environmental law which 'needs to stop'.
The seven counties are: Kildare; Longford; Offaly; Roscommon; Sligo; Tipperary; and Westmeath.
Offaly is home to nine of these illegal large-scale sites subject to EPA investigations and Westmeath is home to eight, while on the other end of the scale, one of the 38 sites investigated is in Sligo.
Local authorities have the primary responsibility for regulating commercial peat extraction sites below 50 hectares and ensuring that operators comply with planning and environmental laws.
Meanwhile, all sites above 50 hectares also require an EPA licence and come under the direct enforcement remit of the EPA.
However, it is understood that some operations reduce their sites to below 50 hectares in order to come under the remit of local authorities as opposed to the EPA.
The EPA also warned in its report that illegal large-scale peat extraction is 'widespread' in Ireland and that the 'sector does not operate within planning or environmental laws'.
Its report relates to large-scale operators and does not refer to the extraction of peat as fuel for domestic use.
The EPA added that it is not concerned with domestic cutting for turf or fuel but with large-scale, illegal extraction that is mainly for the export market.
Its report found that illegal operations are contributing to an export trade of 300,000 tonnes of peat annually, valued at almost €40 million.
The seven local authorities referred to in the report must now take 'appropriate enforcement action' against operators of illegal large-scale peat extraction.
Regulation
Large-scale peat extraction can only take place if it is granted planning permission and in some cases, an EPA licence is also required.
Local authorities are responsible for granting or otherwise the necessary planning permissions for peat extraction, including carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Appropriate Assessments (AA).
An EIA examines the anticipated environmental effects of a proposed project.
An AA determines whether a project could have a significant impact on protected sites such as Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas.
Both are carried out on commercial operators as part of the licensing and planning process.
However, the EPA found that local authority enforcement in this area is 'patently inadequate' and it has directed local authorities to take appropriate enforcement actions against such operations within their jurisdiction.
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While it noted that Longford is 'moving in right direction' and has employed resources and issued notices, the other six counties are said to consider the EPA requirements to be 'resource intrusive' and that any action would have 'questionable chances of success'.
The EPA said it will continue to use its powers to ensure that local authorities 'fully implement and enforce the environmental requirements pertaining to large-scale commercial peat extraction'.
The EPA has carried out 170 enforcement inspections between 2021 and 2024 and has also taken legal actions at District Court and High Court level against operations on areas greater than 50 hectares.
These legal actions have resulted in the cessation of illegal peat extractions on several peatlands in recent years and a number of actions remain live before the courts.
But the EPA warned that local authorities have been 'conspicuous in their lack of enforcement of environmental law'.
Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, said local authorities 'need to step up to meet their legal obligations as regulatory authorities, prioritise their resources and use the ample enforcement powers at their disposal to bring these illegal activities to an end and to protect our environment'.
Ryan said the environmental damage caused by illegal large-scale peat operators is 'catastrophic for the environment'.
He added that they result in the 'destruction of vital ecosystems for biodiversity, the loss of important carbon sinks for our efforts on climate change and the decimation of an irreplaceable cultural and scientific amenity and resource'.
Peatlands are capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and are known as 'carbon sinks,' making them ideal for helping to tackle climate change.
Illegal peat extraction
The EPA noted three methods of illegal large-scale peat extraction.
One such method is 'milling' which involves the removal of the top few centimetres of the peatland and this milled peat is used predominantly as a peat compost in horticulture.
Large sod peat involves excavating large sods or blocks of peat from the peatland and allowing them to dry and these large sods are also used in horticulture.
Meanwhile, wet peat extraction involves partially draining the peatland and the peat is 'quarried' and excavated in its 'wet' state.
The EPA describes wet peat extraction as the 'less sophisticated and most damaging' of the methods and this material is primarily used in the mushroom growing industry.
The EPA said that a large quantity of peat extracted in Ireland has been exported all over the world and that its enforcement action has played a 'major part in driving down exports of peat arising from illegal large-scale operations'.
'Excellent example of engagement'
Meanwhile, the EPA report noted that 'appropriate regulation of peat harvesting can provide important protections for the environment'.
It pointed to Bord na Móna as an 'excellent example' of 'appropriate engagement with the environmental regulations'.
Up until 2020, Bord na Móna lawfully operated nine different peatland sites across 11 counties.
The extraction of peat at these peatlands has now ceased and large scale remediation programmes are underway.
Bord na Móna is engaged in the rehabilitation of those peatlands, with almost 19,000 hectares rehabilitated by the end of 2024, with rehabilitation works to be carried out on the remaining 14,000 hectares.
These rehabilitation works allow water levels to increase and stabilise across the peatland, providing conditions for peatland habitats and species to naturally recolonise the area.
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The Journal
4 days ago
- The Journal
‘Conspicuous' lack of law enforcement on illegal large-scale peat extraction
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Agency has said that local authorities are 'conspicuous in their lack of enforcement' of environmental law when it comes to operators of illegal, large-scale peat extraction. The EPA has investigated 38 sites across seven counties where large-scale commercial peat extraction is being carried out without any of the necessary authorisations from the local authorities. The EPA said these are 'flagrant violations' of environmental law which 'needs to stop'. The seven counties are: Kildare; Longford; Offaly; Roscommon; Sligo; Tipperary; and Westmeath. Offaly is home to nine of these illegal large-scale sites subject to EPA investigations and Westmeath is home to eight, while on the other end of the scale, one of the 38 sites investigated is in Sligo. Local authorities have the primary responsibility for regulating commercial peat extraction sites below 50 hectares and ensuring that operators comply with planning and environmental laws. Meanwhile, all sites above 50 hectares also require an EPA licence and come under the direct enforcement remit of the EPA. However, it is understood that some operations reduce their sites to below 50 hectares in order to come under the remit of local authorities as opposed to the EPA. The EPA also warned in its report that illegal large-scale peat extraction is 'widespread' in Ireland and that the 'sector does not operate within planning or environmental laws'. Its report relates to large-scale operators and does not refer to the extraction of peat as fuel for domestic use. The EPA added that it is not concerned with domestic cutting for turf or fuel but with large-scale, illegal extraction that is mainly for the export market. Its report found that illegal operations are contributing to an export trade of 300,000 tonnes of peat annually, valued at almost €40 million. The seven local authorities referred to in the report must now take 'appropriate enforcement action' against operators of illegal large-scale peat extraction. Regulation Large-scale peat extraction can only take place if it is granted planning permission and in some cases, an EPA licence is also required. Local authorities are responsible for granting or otherwise the necessary planning permissions for peat extraction, including carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Appropriate Assessments (AA). An EIA examines the anticipated environmental effects of a proposed project. An AA determines whether a project could have a significant impact on protected sites such as Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. Both are carried out on commercial operators as part of the licensing and planning process. However, the EPA found that local authority enforcement in this area is 'patently inadequate' and it has directed local authorities to take appropriate enforcement actions against such operations within their jurisdiction. Advertisement While it noted that Longford is 'moving in right direction' and has employed resources and issued notices, the other six counties are said to consider the EPA requirements to be 'resource intrusive' and that any action would have 'questionable chances of success'. The EPA said it will continue to use its powers to ensure that local authorities 'fully implement and enforce the environmental requirements pertaining to large-scale commercial peat extraction'. The EPA has carried out 170 enforcement inspections between 2021 and 2024 and has also taken legal actions at District Court and High Court level against operations on areas greater than 50 hectares. These legal actions have resulted in the cessation of illegal peat extractions on several peatlands in recent years and a number of actions remain live before the courts. But the EPA warned that local authorities have been 'conspicuous in their lack of enforcement of environmental law'. Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, said local authorities 'need to step up to meet their legal obligations as regulatory authorities, prioritise their resources and use the ample enforcement powers at their disposal to bring these illegal activities to an end and to protect our environment'. Ryan said the environmental damage caused by illegal large-scale peat operators is 'catastrophic for the environment'. He added that they result in the 'destruction of vital ecosystems for biodiversity, the loss of important carbon sinks for our efforts on climate change and the decimation of an irreplaceable cultural and scientific amenity and resource'. Peatlands are capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and are known as 'carbon sinks,' making them ideal for helping to tackle climate change. Illegal peat extraction The EPA noted three methods of illegal large-scale peat extraction. One such method is 'milling' which involves the removal of the top few centimetres of the peatland and this milled peat is used predominantly as a peat compost in horticulture. Large sod peat involves excavating large sods or blocks of peat from the peatland and allowing them to dry and these large sods are also used in horticulture. Meanwhile, wet peat extraction involves partially draining the peatland and the peat is 'quarried' and excavated in its 'wet' state. The EPA describes wet peat extraction as the 'less sophisticated and most damaging' of the methods and this material is primarily used in the mushroom growing industry. The EPA said that a large quantity of peat extracted in Ireland has been exported all over the world and that its enforcement action has played a 'major part in driving down exports of peat arising from illegal large-scale operations'. 'Excellent example of engagement' Meanwhile, the EPA report noted that 'appropriate regulation of peat harvesting can provide important protections for the environment'. It pointed to Bord na Móna as an 'excellent example' of 'appropriate engagement with the environmental regulations'. Up until 2020, Bord na Móna lawfully operated nine different peatland sites across 11 counties. The extraction of peat at these peatlands has now ceased and large scale remediation programmes are underway. Bord na Móna is engaged in the rehabilitation of those peatlands, with almost 19,000 hectares rehabilitated by the end of 2024, with rehabilitation works to be carried out on the remaining 14,000 hectares. These rehabilitation works allow water levels to increase and stabilise across the peatland, providing conditions for peatland habitats and species to naturally recolonise the area. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
Illegal peat extraction causing catastrophic damage
The large-scale, illegal commercial extraction of peat is widespread in Ireland and the sector does not operate within planning or environmental laws. That is the main conclusion in the Environmental Protection Agency's first ever report about large-scale peat extraction in Ireland. It has investigated 38 sites across seven counties where large-scale commercial peat extraction is taking place without any of the necessary authorisations from the local authorities The counties are Offaly, Kildare, Laois, Westmeath, Roscommon, Longford and Sligo. About 300,000 tonnes of peat is being extracted from these sites annually, nearly all of which is being exported. It is worth about €40 million per year. All these sites are being operated and harvested illegally. The EPA said they are causing catastrophic damage to local environments; decimating vital ecosystems for biodiversity, culture, and research; and destroying the country's natural carbon sinks - precious boglands that absorb greenhouse gases and are important in the fight against climate change. The EPA has already prosecuted a number of large-scale peat extraction businesses through the courts and closed them down. However, many illegal peat extraction operators have been adapting to evade EPA enforcement by reducing their footprint size to below 50 hectares. This takes them out of the direct enforcement remit of the EPA, although they remain within the enforcement remit of local authorities. The report says local authorities have been conspicuous in their lack of enforcement of environmental law and their performance in this area is "patently inadequate". The EPA said one large-scale peat extraction operation on a narrow country road known as the Pass of Kilbride in Co Westmeath, is typical of what is going on. The road at this location literally bisects the Bog of Milltownpass. On one side is an untouched bogland with all the flora and fauna of a wild place, and signs declaring its status as a designated and protected Natural Heritage Area. The other side of this narrow public road is lined with a couple of 100m long, 3m high heaps of milled peat - soft stuff that might be spread on flower beds to help plants grow, for instance. Behind those heaps of milled peat stretches a vast brown industrial-scale scarred landscape, complete with active peat harvesting machinery. It is the polar opposite of the intact protected natural bogland across the road. The bare brown landscape on this side is 3m below the untouched bog on the far side. It is obvious from this that large-scale extraction of peat has been going on here for years, probably decades. EPA Director of the Office of Environmental Enforcement Dr Tom Ryan said: "They would have originally taken away all of the natural environment, the surface environment, the heather and sphagnum moss, and those habitats. "They would have lowered the water table, drained the water, and then started to mill the surface of the peat. They mill several centimeters deep each season, harrowing the peat to allow it to dry. Then gather it up to bring it away for processing." He said the peat here is not being harvested as turf for fuel or for domestic use. It is being milled for the export market where it will be used for horticulture, mushroom growing, and animal bedding. The EPA has given local authorities all its enforcement information, and intelligence about the location, size, and nature of the 38 illegal peat extraction operations, including aerial photography. It is calling on those local authorities to step up to their statutory responsibilities as regulators, to develop county-wide enforcement plans and site-specific enforcement plans, and to then implement those plans and hold operators to account. Dr Ryan said that local authorities need to prioritise their resources and use the "ample statutory enforcement tools that are available to them" to bring these operations to a halt. "If operators want to continue with this kind of practice, then they have to engage with the local authorities to get the appropriate authorisations, and that would mean they need planning permission if they're above 30 hectares. "When they're above 50 hectares, they need planning permission and a license from the Environmental Protection Agency. Sites below 30 hectares require a screening process where the question is asked, is there an environmental impact going on here and are the appropriate assessments required related to habitats potentially impacted. If the answer to that is yes, then they too also need planning permission from the local authority," Dr Ryan said. Local authorities have the primary responsibility for regulating all commercial peat extraction, specifically regarding compliance with environmental legislation including the performance of Environmental Impact Assessments, Appropriate Assessments associated with protected habitats, and the granting or otherwise of the necessary planning permissions for those activities. The EPA is directing local authorities to take appropriate enforcement actions against such operations within their jurisdiction. The EPA said it will continue to use its powers to ensure that local authorities fully implement and enforce the environmental requirements pertaining to large-scale commercial peat extraction.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Illegal peat harvesting is still taking place on a large scale, EPA report finds
Illegal commercial extraction of peat on a large scale continues to be widespread in Ireland, with a flourishing export trade worth €40 million a year, an EPA investigation has found. A total of 38 large-scale operations are engaged in illegal peat extraction in a sector that 'does not operate within planning or environmental laws', the report, published on Wednesday, concludes. 'Local authority enforcement performance in this area is patently inadequate,' it finds. The EPA has investigated 38 sites across seven counties – Offaly, Kildare, Laois, Westmeath, Roscommon, Longford and Sligo – where large-scale commercial peat extraction is being carried out without any of the necessary authorisations from local authorities. READ MORE The worst county was Westmeath, with eight illegal sites, followed by Tipperary and Roscommon with six each. [ Ireland worst in world for wetlands depletion over past 3 centuries, global study finds Opens in new window ] These illegal operations are contributing to an export trade of 300,000 tonnes of peat annually, valued at almost €40 million, the report says. The EPA has carried out 170 enforcement inspections between 2021 and 2024, including legal actions at District Court and High Court level against operations on areas greater than 50 hectares. These actions have resulted in cessation of illegal extractions on several peatlands, while a number of actions remain live before the courts. The products being extracted are milled peat used as compost and large sod peat – used in horticulture – as well as 'wet peat extracts' used in mushroom production. Dr Tom Ryan, director of the EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, said: 'Operators engaged in unauthorised peat harvesting activities are in flagrant violation of environmental law. They are destroying our precious natural environments, and this needs to stop.' 'The environmental damage caused by large-scale peat extraction operating outside regulatory control is catastrophic for the environment,' Dr Ryan said. 'It results in destruction of vital ecosystems for biodiversity, loss of important carbon sinks ... and decimation of an irreplaceable cultural and scientific amenity and resource.' Peat extraction is subject to several legal restrictions in Ireland, and many sites have not received the required permissions. Photograph: EPA Bord na Móna was an excellent example of appropriate engagement with environmental regulations working, he said, including compliance with EPA licensing requirements, minimising of negative environmental impacts of peat harvesting, and securing of the rehabilitation of harvested peatlands. Local authorities have primary responsibility for regulating all commercial peat extraction. The EPA said it will continue to use its powers to ensure local authorities fully implement and enforce environmental requirements. The report notes appropriate regulation of peat harvesting can provide important protections for the environment. Bord na Móna had lawfully operated nine different peatland complexes across 11 counties under EPA licence until 2020, when these operations ceased. In accordance with their licence conditions and with support of the Peatlands Climate Action Scheme, Bord na Móna is engaged in rehabilitation of those peatlands, with almost 19,000 hectares rehabilitated by the end of 2024, 'bringing them back to life, allowing nature to take its course and the peatlands to flourish again', the report states. [ Turf cutters warn of confrontational scenes after EU Commission move Opens in new window ] The EPA has gathered evidence of expensive machinery, complex drainage systems, extensive rows and stacks of cut peat and, in some cases, large warehouses on sites. Large-scale commercial peat extraction can only take place if it is granted planning permission. In some cases, an EPA licence is also required. For peat extraction from on an area greater than 50Ha, extraction needs an EPA integrated pollution control licence as well as planning permission and an environmental impact assessment (EIA). There is a ban on the commercial sale of peat for solid fuel heating and restriction of peat-cutting for other purposes, such as horticulture. Environmental groups have highlighted that very few, if any, plots have the required permits or would be eligible for them because they would fail at the EIA stage. Peat extraction was targeted for phase-out on environmental and public health grounds, as turf-burning causes air pollution and bog-stripping undermines the natural environment.
