More than 160 objections as council deems Tipperary biogas plant application invalid
Plans for an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant outside Tipperary town have been deemed invalid by the local authority.
Andrew Kiely and Nephin Renewable Gas applied to Tipperary County Council for planning permission to develop the plant on a site at Ballynilard, outside Tipperary town.
The proposed plant would have three digesters, two digestate storage structures, and a liquid feed tank, and would produce biomethane, carbon dioxide and a bio-based fertiliser.
Tipperary County Council has now deemed the application invalid on several grounds, including that one of the landowners where the development is proposed has withdrawn her permission for her land to be used.
The council also raised concerns about increased traffic as a result of the development, with an “insufficient analysis” of how traffic will be impacted on the local roads around the proposed plant.
"The road safety audit focuses primarily on the internal access road and site layout, with insufficient analysis of the R‑662 interface, which is the critical risk point,” the council said.
Council planners also raised concerns about the impact that the plant would have on the environment, particularly on water quality in the area.
"The proposal should be assessed against Article 4 of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to determine whether the project may cause a deterioration of the status of a surface or ground water body.”
Article 4 of the Water Framework Directive prohibits projects that would cause further deterioration of water bodies.
"WFD data states that currently the Ara is at risk and at poor status with ammonia trending downwards and elevated concentrations of ortho-phosphorus,” council planners said.
The council also added that the applicant’s “emissions limit values would not be acceptable to discharge into the Ara river," and that “revised lower emission levels are required”.
Mr Kiely and Nephin Renewable Gas are now required to address the issues raised by the council before any further decisions can be made on the plans.
The proposed AD plant received over 160 objections from locals, including from the owners of a local stud farm who feel that the AD plant, if it goes ahead, will cause their clients to look elsewhere.
"Should our clients, both current and future, feel that this industrial development will have an impact on the peaceful setting that they require, and value they are currently getting, they may decide to look elsewhere,” they said.
"The impact of this on us and our son’s future livelihood cannot be underestimated,” they added.
Cashel Golden Tipperary Trout Anglers Association and the Clonmel and District Salmon and Trout Anglers Association submitted objections to the plans, saying that the facility will have a “detrimental effect” on aquatic life in the River Ara.
Both angling associations raised concerns about ammonia, phosphorus and nitrate levels, arguing that any additional discharge into the River Ara would be “unacceptable” given its current poor ecological status.
"Given that the River Ara in Tipperary town was found to be in poor ecological quality, the further addition of more pollutants from the proposed development will further compound the poor ecological quality of the River Ara,” one objection said.