The Environment Section has responsibility for over 500 statutory functions, which are contained within over 100 pieces of legislation. The key areas dealt with include:

• Waste Management
• Water Quality & Pollution Control
• Education & Awareness
• Veterinary Services
• Burial Grounds

 

Waste Management

Dunmore Landfill

Final restoration works on the Council's closed landfill at Dunmore were almost complete by the end of 2010. Topsoiling and seeding will be completed in early 2011. The adjacent Civic Amenity Site continues to operate and extended facilities have been provided to cater for additional waste for disposal as a result of the landfill closure.

 

Waste Collection Permits

Kilkenny County Council is the issuing authority for Waste Collection Permits for the South East Region, comprising Carlow County Council, Kilkenny County Council, South Tipperary County Council, Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Wexford County Council. A total of 331 applications have been granted to the end of 2010 with 23 applications granted during 2010. Reviews of existing waste collection permits are also ongoing.

All waste collection permits holders issued with a waste collection permit are required to submit an AR before the 28th February each year for waste collection activities relating to the previous year. A new On-Line AR (Annual Return) System has been developed and is in place in Kilkenny County Council since February, 2010. All ARs are now submitted on line.

The Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2007 and the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations, 2008 were implemented on the 1st June, 2008. A multi-regional waste collection permit system has been established whereby the permit holder may now apply to the nominated authority where the principal waste collection activity is to be carried out and also the permit holder may decide to have some or all of any existing waste collection permits in the various regions reviewed or make an application for a permit for the collection of waste in additional regions.

 

Recycling

The Section operates more than forty bring centres in the county. In a new value for money initiative, the South East Region is in the process of tendering for a recycling service contract which will serve the full recycling needs of the Region. The maintenance cleaning contract continues to greatly improve the area surrounding the bring centres. The Community Bottle Bank Scheme continued with 10 communities taking care of their own local bring centres.

Three WEEE days were organised in 2010 which serviced Kilkenny City and 6 other locations in the County. Over 93 tonnes of electrical and electronic appliances were collected for recycling in association with WEEE Ireland.

 

Enforcement

In total, there were 1281 Environmental Complaints received by the Council in 2010. Illegal dumping accounted for 897, abandoned vehicles 99, Cars for sale 11, unauthorised waste activities 50, illegal burning 45, Bring Banks 24, Litter/street cleaning 65, Signage 11, Water Pollution 35 and Dogs 13.

In 2010 there were 189 Litter Fines issued under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997-2009. In addition, there were 4 prosecutions initiated under this legislation.

Under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2010, there were 20 notices issued of which 6 resulted in the initiation of prosecution proceedings.

In 2010 the Environment Section carried out 606 inspections of waste incidents and 162 inspections concerned with litter.

The Environment Team carry out routine inspections which included 150 routine litter patrols, 36 inspections of waste permitted facilities, 118 inspections of tyre outlets, 5 inspections of hazardous waste.

Under air legislation there were 7 inspections of fuel distributors, 34 inspections under the Deco Paint Regulations and 8 inspections under the Solvents Regulations.

The Enforcement Team carry out producer responsibility inspections including 47 ELV inspections, 4 inspections of farm plastics, 97 for the plastic bag levy and 42 of battery outlets.

 

Joint Waste Management Plan (JWMP) for South East Region, 2006 - 2011

The Plan is due for review in 2011. A full review is likely to be deferred pending the finalisation of revised national waste policy.

 

Litter Management

The Litter Management Plan covers the period 2008 - 2011. A number of initiatives took place in 2010 to raise the awareness of the impact of litter on local communities.

• South East Anti Litter Week

SE Anti Litter Week was held the same week as National Heritage Week with the tag line "Don't Rubbish our Heritage". A competition was held in all local newspapers and 2 street events were organised for Kilkenny City.

Bui Bolg street performers on High Street as part of Anti Litter Week.

 

The end of the campaign was marked by a litter awareness stand at the Iverk Agricultural Show in Piltown. This was organised by the Awareness Officers of the South East Region. The issue of cigarette butts was highlighted with mobile ashtrays presented to smokers.

SE Regional Awareness Officers at the Iverk Show, Piltown.

 

• Team Up to Clean Up Kilkenny

The Environment Section received Citation of Best Practice from the Chamber's of Ireland Excellence in Local Government Award 2010 for project "Team up to Clean Up Kilkenny" which promoted litter picks throughout the summer between the community, office staff of the Local Authority and local councillors.

Brian Tyrrell, Lisa Russell and Kevin Hanley completing a litter pick on the Waterford Road

 

• National Spring Clean

100 groups in the city and county registered with the National Spring Clean to complete a community clean up in 2010.

 

• Tidy Towns

The Environment Section remains supportive to groups who participate in the national Tidy Towns competition. 6 information sessions were organised throughout the county in 2010 to allow groups to meet with a tidy town's adjudicator for advice and to discuss elements of the competition.

 

• Local Authority Prevention Network Programme

The Environment Section continues to promote waste prevention in the home and in businesses. Two food waste audits were completed as part of the programme and a business seminar was organised in association with Cré. The seminar highlighted the potential cash savings regarding food waste prevention and publicised the new regulations that came into effect in 2010 and the impacts for business in relation to the disposal of food waste.

 

 

Water Quality & Pollution Control

Water Framework Directive & River Basin Management

The EU Water Framework Directive is an important piece of EU environmental legislation which aims at improving our water environment. It requires governments to take a new holistic approach to managing their waters. It applies to rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries and costal waters. Member States must aim to achieve at least good status in all waters and must ensure that status does not deteriorate in any waters.

The Water Framework Directive establishes water management at the level of river basins. The River Basin District Management Scheme has been set up to establish an Integrated Monitoring & Management System for all waters within the South Eastern River Basin District. Kilkenny County Council, along with other sectoral interests in the south east of Ireland is part of the management structure for this River Basin Project. A dynamic programme of management measures has been finalised as part of the River Basin Management Plan. The Draft Plan for the South Eastern River Basin District was published in December 2008 and finally adopted in 2010.

 

Pollution Control and Enforcement

Kilkenny County Council's Water Quality Team routinely undertakes targeted farm inspections and river bank surveys in order to identify and mitigate instances of pollution and therefore maintain or achieve Good Water Quality Status for all waters (surface waters, groundwaters, estuarine and coastal waters). In 2010 farm surveys were prioritised in the areas around public water supplies in the interests of public health.

The Environment Section issues and enforces discharge licences for discharges of trade effluents to waters and to the public sewers. Inspections of licensed premises are carried out routinely.

 

 

Education and Awareness

In 2010, the Environment Section co-ordinated activities county-wide for Repak Recycling Week, National Spring Clean, Energy Awareness Week and EU Waste Prevention Week.

The Environment Section administered a number of grant schemes including Anti- Litter Awareness Grants, Local Agenda 21, Environmental Partnership Fund and the Community Bottle Bank Scheme.

 

Green Schools Programme
The Green Flag is the most prestigious award that a school can achieve and is awarded to schools that take action to improve their local environment.

The Environmental Awareness Officer provides local support to schools and also completes the assessment for the award. Last November a green school information evening was hosted by Kilkenny County Council which was aimed at parents and teachers. Participation rates are high in Kilkenny with 88% of all schools participating in the programme. The county now has 35 Green Flag schools.

The Environmental Awareness Officer completed 40 school visits in 2010 and organised additional educational visits Waste Construction and Sustainable Living Workshops.

 

EcoChat on KCLR96FM
This joint initiative continues between Kilkenny & Carlow County Councils in conjunction with KCLR96FM. The Environmental Awareness Officers go live on air every fortnight to discuss different environmental topics. The segment is called "EcoChat" and is aired after the 11am news on the programme "On the Record" with Sue Nunn.

 

Climate Change
The Environment Section continues to raise awareness of climate change and provides practical information on how to conserve energy. In 2010 a number of public events were organised in association with Carlow Kilkenny Energy Agency through the library service.

Bernadette Moloney, the Environmental Awareness Officer with Speaker, Gavin Harte at the Climate for Change
public session which over 300 secondary pupils attended in November 2010 as part of EU Waste Reduction Week

 

 

Veterinary Services

The Veterinary Service fulfils the food safety service contract between the FSAI and Kilkenny County Council. The Veterinary Public Health and animal welfare functions include providing official controls/regulation of slaughterhouses and small meat processing plants, and small poultry slaughtering plants (includes on farm slaughter of poultry i.e. seasonal slaughter). Other functions include interagency working e.g. attendance of South East Regional Zoonoses Committee meetings (the County Veterinary Officer is the South East Rep on the National Zoonoses Committee), participation in FSAI Working Groups, participation in multidisciplinary Disease Outbreak Control Teams where appropriate, response to food incidents etc. The service is subject to internal audits i.e. from Veterinary Service of other Local Authorities and external audits from the Food and Veterinary Office of the EU and the FSAI.

Slaughterhouses under the service's supervision in 2010 slaughtered 3,920 Cattle, 18,716 Sheep and 327 Pigs. These slaughterhouses are low - medium throughput slaughterhouses, which facilitates animals to be born, reared and slaughtered in a local area thus reducing transport stress on the animal (which is good animal welfare practice) and reduces pathogen shedding. Enabling meat and meat products which are produced locally to be sold and consumed locally. Official controls provide that each animal slaughtered for human consumption requires an ante mortem inspection and post mortem inspection, microbiological sampling, national residue sampling, audits on hygiene practices, implementation of HACCP, animal welfare audits etc.

The service supervises small/medium meat processing plants in the county. There is a range of meat processing activities occurring in such premises from storage and distribution, to manufacture of sausages, to the cutting and curing of meat etc. All require veterinary supervision under EU legislation. Frequency of Official Controls are carried out by risk assessment and include hygiene inspections, audits on the implementation of HACCP, microbiological sampling etc.

The Service is involved in the veterinary and animal welfare issues in the Control of Horses and Control of Dogs. The Control of Horses Enforcement Team impounded 92 horses and licensed 51 horses in 2010. In 2010, there were 7,209 individual dogs licensed and 32 Group Dog Licences were issued for the county. Dog licensing is a team collaboration between the Dog Warden Service (ISPCA) and staff in the Environment Section.

 

Burial Grounds

Kilkenny County Council has 14 open and active Burial Grounds across the County with each having a Caretaker in place to manage the record keeping.

New burial ground maps continue to be developed and are distributed to the Caretakers on completion.