A NEW REPORT has set out a series of failures and under-performing environmental monitoring by local authorities.
The document, published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), examines how councils have been regulating water, air and noise quality, along with waste management.
It has found that a number of councils are not adequately resourcing their inspection teams and are “not delivering” improved water and air quality, with many key environmental indicators are “static or trending in the wrong direction”, according to the watchdog.
Setting out ambitions for the future, the EPA wants local authorities to “designate quiet areas” in towns and cities by cooperating with other State transport bodies.
It also wants to ensure greater enforcement of potential slurry spreading by farmers this winter.
While there was good news showing that the number of local authorities which had met the required standard had doubled compared to the previous year, there were still a number of councils that were meeting only 30 per cent or less of their EPA assessment goals.
Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, said the report demonstrated the scale of work carried out by local authorities – with up 520 local authority staff handling almost 70,000 complaints last year.
“Local authorities have a vital statutory responsibility in the protection of our local environment and are responsible for enforcing much of our environmental protection legislation,” Ryan said.
While the scale of environmental enforcement work carried out by local authorities is significant, in many areas it is not delivering the necessary environmental outcomes such as improved water and air quality and waste segregation.
Outlining its findings, the EPA said that councils need to increase their farm inspections and ensure they carry out follow-up enforcement monitoring.
For waste management, the regulator said that local authorities need to prioritise enforcement of the roll-out and use of three-bin systems to improve segregation of household and commercial waste.
Local authorities need to also “prioritise and resource” environmental departments to deliver on Ireland’s enforcement priorities.
Assessments
The assessments looked at how each local authority was performing in a series of areas, from water and air quality to waste management.
Ten local authorities achieved the required standard in 70 per cent or more of the assessments.
These were Kildare, Meath, Fingal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Dublin City, Carlow and Cork County.
“This is up from five local authorities the previous year,” the EPA said.
Kildare County Council was the only local authority to achieve the required standard of strong or excellent across all five air and noise categories.
However, on the other end of the scale, four local authorities achieved the required standard in only 30 per cent or less of their assessments.
These were Waterford, Offaly, Kilkenny and Wexford.
Among the areas each of the under-performing counties came in for scrutiny was for its monitoring of farming activities.
Agriculture has a “significant” impact on water quality because of excess levels of nutrients, which are used by dairy farmers, entering waterways.
“Overall water quality is not good enough, with just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters
in satisfactory condition,” the EPA said.
Earlier this year, The Journal reported on findings by a local authority body which set out that water inspection units were severely under-staffed, with almost 60 qualified investigators needed.
The report also found there to be just 11 full-time equivalent staff for farm inspections across the country – but many of these inspectors also hold other roles in their relevant council department, such as in environment or roads.
The EPA’s report echoes those findings, as it notes that just a quarter of environmental staff were assigned to water monitoring and enforcement last year.
Nationally, water inspections represent 21% of the environmental inspections undertaken by local authorities,” the EPA said.
“While the number of local authority farm inspections increased during 2022, the number is still too low. More farm inspections and follow-up enforcement is needed to reduce the risk of agricultural activities negatively impacting on water quality.”
Ryan said that it was crucial that local authorities show leadership in its response to the report.
Local authority leadership is critical in delivering better environmental outcomes through the prioritisation of environmental enforcement and the appropriate allocation of resources.
One of its priorities for this winter is that local authorities ensure that there is “no spreading of soiled water, slurry or fertiliser” on farmlands in the closed season or under unsuitable weather or soil conditions.
This includes when there is heavy rain because the fertiliser can be washed off the land due to the deluge.
Waste sector
In the waste sector, there are “challenging” recycling targets that need to be met according to the regulator.
Greater enforcement is also sought so that failed septic tank systems are fixed.
The EPA cited “poor waste segregation” as households and businesses still put most of their waste in the wrong bin.
To combat this, it wants local authorities to enforce the roll-out and use of three-bin systems, to
improve segregation and increase recycling of both household and commercial waste.
The EPA stressed that a better segregation of waste is essential if we are to “turn waste into a valuable resource and reduce the amount of wastes we are sending to incineration and landfills”.
Air and noise pollution
Local authorities assign a “much lower level” of resources to air and noise enforcement than waste and water enforcement, the EPA found.
While air quality last year met the standards in the Cleaner Air for Europe (CAFE) Directive, the EPA said there remain concerning localised issues that impact negatively on people’s health.
It said councils should ensure that only approved solid fuels are available for sale, to reduce air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels for home heating.
Along with resourcing noise pollution functions more adequately, the watchdog also believes they should co-ordinate actions with other bodies responsible for transport and roads.
This would involve designating quiet areas in towns and cities.
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