Environmental Group Challenges Service Station Development in Court

An environmental advocacy group has initiated a High Court challenge against a service station development led by Pat McDonagh, founder of Supermac’s. The action taken by the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) seeks to invalidate a wastewater connection agreement between Uisce Éireann and McDonagh’s service station project, located near Ennis, Co Clare. This agreement permits the new facility to link to Uisce Éireann’s wastewater treatment plant at Clareabbey, which FIE claims is already operating beyond its capacity.

FIE argues that the Clareabbey treatment plant is overloaded, receiving more wastewater than it can handle. The group contends that Uisce Éireann violated legislation by entering into the agreement with McDonagh under these circumstances. The case is officially against Uisce Éireann, while McDonagh, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Attorney General are all identified as notice parties in the proceedings.

In 2022, McDonagh secured planning permission from An Bord Pleanála (now An Coimisiún Pleanála) for the service station after first submitting plans over a decade ago. The approval itself faced a separate High Court challenge, but the court upheld the planning authority’s decision last year. Construction of the service station, situated off the M18 at Kilbreckan, Doora, commenced in February 2023.

On Monday, barrister Alan Doyle, representing FIE, informed Mr. Justice Richard Humphreys that they had previously sought a stay on the operation of the connection agreement. Following this request, Uisce Éireann communicated that it would provide a notice period of 14 days before starting any work at the development. Consequently, Doyle indicated that the court need not intervene at this time regarding the stay.

Alan Keating SC, representing McDonagh, stated that he had been instructed to contest any applications for costs protection sought by FIE. The group’s court documents reference the Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011, which stipulates that parties involved in certain environmental cases are responsible for their own legal costs.

The case is set to return to court in November 2023. This ongoing legal dispute highlights the complexities surrounding environmental regulations and infrastructure developments in Ireland, reflecting broader concerns about wastewater management and environmental sustainability.