THE DEPARTMENT OF Defence has said that a planned incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork would close a nearby naval yard in certain conditions.
A third oral hearing on the plan for the site has been ongoing in Cork since Tuesday and adjourned at lunchtime on Friday for the weekend.
As part of the objection to the plan, the Department of Defence argued that Haulbowline naval yard would be restricted in southerly winds.
The submission says that the proximity of the chimney stacks to Haulbowline and Spike Island are a “concern”.
“If the proposed resource recovery centre is developed the Air Corps may be forced to impose a local no-fly restriction around the site with an additional restriction on operations to Haulbowline naval base and Spike Island which would result in no possible operations to the naval base during southerly wind conditions.”
The objection also takes issue with the site’s location near the road into Haulbowline. It says that in the event of an accident at the incinerator, road access would be threatened, denying the evacuation of Haulbowline.
The 15-year plan to put an incinerator at the Indaver site in Ringaskiddy have been met with resistance from the community, local politicians and members of PDFORRA, the Defence Forces officers’ representative body.
An application to build the plant was rejected by An Bord Pleanala in 2011 on the grounds that the plan did not adequately plan for flooding or coastal erosion.
Indaver, who want to build the €160 million 240,000 tonne per year facility, say that there is no evidence smoke stacks would impede aerial access.
“The US Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) examined the issue of the safety risks of aircraft overflight of industrial stacks and determined that no accidents or incidents had been recorded, which were attributed to overflight of exhaust plumes.
“The US FAA determined that the risks associated with exhaust plumes is deemed acceptable. Consequently it is considered that there is not likely to be a significant interaction between helicopter flights and the emissions to air from the facility.”
The hearings resume next week.
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