5 days ago
‘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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