The High Court has set the terms for an independent expert to assist it in resolving disputes about the remediation of the Whitestown dump in West Wicklow. The court has not yet chosen the expert, and it did not extend or vary the existing deadline for completing remediation.
In a judgment delivered on 18 December 2023, Mr Justice Humphreys directed that the expert report, when and as the court requires, on disputed matters that the court considers suitable for expert assistance. The brief includes what is needed to ensure the remediation plan, or any revised plan, meets the court’s orders for full remediation.
The council’s law agent will pass instructions to the expert on matters agreed by the parties or, if they disagree, as directed by the court. Correspondence must be copied to Brownfield Restoration Ireland Limited. The expert can also send queries or reports to the court and Brownfield. If a disagreement arises, the court is to be informed. The council will handle the filing of the expert’s affidavits and reports.
The court did not give the expert inspection or other special powers at this stage. It said any need for further orders could be addressed later. The expert’s fees are to be paid by the council within two months of a request, with any dispute about the amount or timing referred to the court. The council must also pay Brownfield’s reasonable costs of complying with requests from the expert. Brownfield may apply for other costs related to the expert and for payment on account of costs already awarded.
The case concerns a dump that operated at a quarry site from around 1979. The judgment records that at least 250,000 tonnes of waste remain on site after the council’s earlier works removed 16,479.8 tonnes. The council accepts that groundwater can rise into a small area of waste in Zone C under extreme wet conditions; it maintains that backfilled material in Zones A and B that contacts groundwater is inert. These details form part of the case history and the parties’ positions, not findings made by this judgment on the disputed remediation issues.
The court set the next steps as choosing the expert, hearing Brownfield’s existing costs motion, considering any application for payment on account, and then addressing the council’s request to change the timetable. The expert-selection issue was listed for mention on 15 January 2024. The judge also directed the council to continue remediation work at pace, saying the approaching deadline or lack of agreement on an extension should not delay progress.
The judgment is the tenth in Brownfield’s High Court proceedings against Wicklow County Council. The 19 January 2024 long-stop date originated in an earlier order. This judgment set the expert’s terms and the next procedural steps; it did not decide the expert’s identity, the pending costs issues, or whether the timetable should change.