Environmental Impact Assessment | Verde - Complete Environmental Solutions

(LNG) terminal in the Shannon estuary must be subject to a new environmental assessment

(LNG) terminal in the Shannon estuary must be subject to a new environmental assessment The European Court of Justice has advised the Irish High Court that An Bord Pleanála’s decision in 2018 to extend planning permission for a proposed €500 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Shannon estuary must be subject to a new environmental assessment under the EU Habitats Directive. The p...
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EU calls on Ireland to carry out environmental impact assessments for peat extraction

The European Commission is asking Ireland to respect its obligations under EU rules on environmental impact assessment (EIA). Under the EIA Directive (2011/92/EU), Member States are required to carry out an assessment of the environmental impacts of projects likely to have a significant negative impact on the environment. This includes peat extraction projects. Ireland has had numerous problems ...
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Scottish project tackles pills’ ‘environmental impact’

A new Scottish health project aims to tackle potential harm caused to the environment by pharmaceuticals. An estimated 100 million treatments are prescribed every year in Scotland. After a pill passes through a person's body, some of its compounds reach rivers, lochs and the sea because waste water plants cannot filter them out. While the project team say there is ...
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Unauthorised quarries ‘putting Ireland’s environment at risk’

There are more than 150 unauthorised quarries across Ireland, it was revealed on Wednesday. Permission for quarries is given or refused on a number of grounds including how much environmental damage they’re likely to cause but RTÉ Investigates has found that the system is full of loopholes, delays and grey areas, resulting in Ireland’s environment being put at risk. The programme ...
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State fined €5m over Co Galway wind farm

Ireland has been fined €5 million for failing to carry out an EU court-ordered environmental impact assessment on a 70-turbine windfarm at Derrybrien, Co Galway. The Luxembourg based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) also ordered the State to pay a further €15,000 a day for every day the judgment remains unimplemented. It warned the farm’s operating licence may yet be removed after t...
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Council failed to assess biodiverse wetlands before they were destroyed

A local authority failed to carry out any environmental impact assessment before destroying a biodiverse wetland and killing thousands of animals at a park in Dublin. South Dublin County Council (SDCC) has also said it has no record of any ecological surveys undertaken in the area. The destruction of the wetlands caused outrage after tonnes of silt were spread on the site, which had developed in...
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An Bord Pleanála Annual Report 2018

An Bord Pleanála have published their annual report and accounts for 2018. Headline figures show: a 6% increase in cases received; a 32% increase in cases decided; a 10% decrease in cases on hand at year end; 105 Strategic Infrastructure Development applications lodged; 44 Strategic Housing Development applications lodged; 99 vacant site levy appeals; 2018 was the first full year of...
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Environmental due diligence and assessment important consideration when developing investment plans

Four environmental advocacy organizations called on Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, on Monday to halt all new investments in fossil fuel companies and commit to phasing out such existing investments. The €456 billion ($502 billion) pension fund's investments in fossil fuels rose to €16.5 billion as of Dec. 31 from €14 billion in 2015, according to a report by consultant Profund...
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Environmental group in peat bog court fight

A landmark High Court challenge against the State over new regulations that allow for the industrial extraction of peat from bogs has opened before the High Court. The action has been taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), which claims regulations introduced last January mean large-scale peat extraction does not require planning permission, and instead must be licensed by the Envir...
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Building on Dublin Bay ‘could help the environment’

Reclaiming Dublin Bay would help Ireland meet its climate targets, as well a providing much-needed housing for the city’s growing population, David Browne, president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, has said. The Government’s Project Ireland 2040 plan, which aims to guide sustainable development, was not adequate, said Mr Browne, who is a director of RKD Architects. “We need t...
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