Debate contribution: Waste Management Issues: Warrenpoint

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 1 October 2024.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

1 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Waste Management Issues: Warrenpoint

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4563268

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to open the Adjournment debate today on the NIEA and waste management issues in Warrenpoint. Today's debate has been a long time coming. At the outset, I will say that, as part of our debates in this place, we use our words to paint the most illuminating picture of the specific issue. We articulate a position so as to convince one another of the veracity of our arguments, but to properly paint a picture of the SDLP's argument for today's debate would require an assault on the senses of those represented in the Chamber. I say that because, for too long, residents and businesses across Warrenpoint and visitors to the town have been assaulted by rotten and nauseating smells, with brown and yellow liquids and flies and bluebottles on their streets, in their homes and even in their cars. All of that has stemmed from waste disposal, waste management and the operation of the NIEA in how that waste disposal is licensed and managed. It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute, at the outset of the debate, to the residents of Warrenpoint and the community organisations, such as Rotten to the Point and Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment (RARE), who have ensured that the matter has remained firmly on the public agenda. It is also important, at the outset, to detail what today is not about. We are not here to call for the expulsion of a private company from Warrenpoint. Every elected representative knows that to do so would not be feasible, practical or possible. To the best of my knowledge, it is not even within the gift of the Minister to do that. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify that in his response. We are here today to discuss a lasting political solution. Warrenpoint is a beautiful, historic and significant town. Tourism is an essential part of the town's identity. Pride in the local surroundings will feature in any local resident's value system. A sense of welcome and hospitality is at the heart of Warrenpoint. Next year, Warrenpoint will welcome a number of cruise ships to the town, with the local port already almost fully booked to cruise ship capacity. In 2013, the NIEA received an application for the storage and disposal of waste from Warrenpoint harbour. The request was for the storage of waste that is then exported, burned and turned into energy known as refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The NIEA consulted with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Planning Service, the Loughs Agency, NI Water, the council's environmental health team, the NIEA's water management unit, the NIEA's environmental crime unit and the landowner. The NIEA determined that the licence-holder could have a maximum waste storage of 10,000 tons. All seemed to be going well. Waste was collected, stored and exported. However, as the level of waste exported began to increase, nauseating smells began to present in the local area. Depending on what way the wind was blowing, those smells could carry into local homes and businesses. How did the NIEA respond to that? It responded by increasing the level that could be stored at any one time, not just by a little but by double. As a result, more smells began to present, and they became more persistent. Local residents became increasingly concerned about the levels of waste being stored and the length of time for which they were being stored. In response to my question for written answer a few weeks ago, the Minister stated:

"The NIEA have no plans to review this limit."

Will the Minister consider that now? Will he detail why, in response to a number of breaches, the maximum level of waste that can be exported from Warrenpoint in any year has increased from 116,000 tons to 500,000 tons? When there are complaints of non-compliance and the NIEA is made aware of it, what does it do? It engages with the licence-holder, makes directives about what practices need to change and issues notices. Does it engage with the landowner, when the licence-holder is a tenant, and make them aware of the breaches and complaints? No, it does not. Yet, as soon as the landowner at Warrenpoint harbour became aware of those breaches, they immediately began a process of engagement with the licence-holder and local residents and produced an independent report to try to prevent it from happening again. One would think that, had NIEA made the landowner aware of the breaches, engagement with the licence-holder could have begun much sooner, and the issue would not have gone on for so long. Yet, the Minister has told me, in writing, that the NIEA has no plans to change this practice. Will the Minister now consider that? As I mentioned, when the NIEA became aware of those breaches of the licence, inspections took place. I was made aware that, last year alone, 12 visits took place and 11 breaches of compliance were detailed, including breaches of control procedures, permitted waste quantities, monitoring of odours and pest control.

The inspection reports make for interesting reading and raise further questions about the NIEA's competence. One inspection lasted two minutes: two minutes. Did that inspection identify any issues with staffing or supervision? Did it flag any issues with understanding of the licence? Was there a technically competent person on-site? Was a site diary kept? We do not know, because, by the NIEA's own admission, those matters were not inspected: they were recorded as "NI" in its report.

As more complaints were made about the foul smell, flies and leachate, further inspections were completed, during which those carrying out the inspection recognised the smells. Flies were noted, including in the inspector's car when leaving the site. As time progressed, the smells got worse, and it was identified that the bales of waste were squashed and had holes in them. Bales were identified as having been there for more than five months, and a brown-yellow liquid was leaking out of them. The NIEA conducted a follow-up meeting a number of weeks later, when the bales had been removed. Did that inspection flag any issues with permitted waste quantities, staffing, understanding of the licence, availability of a technically competent person, a site identification board, fires on-site, a waste quantity measurement system, security and availability of records or a site diary? We do not know, because, by the NIEA's own admission, those matters were not inspected. I ask the Minister to clarify exactly what constitutes a full inspection. All those inspections were carried out during the day, yet the licence-holder operates throughout the night. Perhaps the Minister can detail how many of the 1,140 NIEA inspections across the North last year were conducted at night. Many of the issues that we are discussing have been resolved to a certain extent as a result of public pressure and engagements held by the licence-holder and the landlord. It was certainly not as a result of the NIEA's work. As I said at the outset, Warrenpoint is a beautiful area. It has a thriving tourism industry at the port. It is hoped that the historic Warrenpoint Baths will be restored to their former glory. With the cross-border benefits that the construction of the Narrow Water bridge will bring, the last thing that we want is a repeat of the issue. All of that leads to questions for the Minister. Can he order a business to leave the town? Why was the level of waste able to be stored at any one time increased to 20,000 tons? Why, after a number of breaches, was the licensee permitted an increase from 116,000 tons to 500,000 tons a year? Will the NIEA change its practice of not notifying a landowner who is not the licence-holder of breaches of compliance? Will the NIEA change its practice so that, when it undertakes a full inspection, it actually undertakes a full inspection? Will it conduct investigations at night? Is the NIEA fit for purpose? Finally, will the Minister undertake to work with the NIEA to reduce the level of waste that can be stored at any given time to the level that it was at when no smells were present? Will he address the question of whether it is appropriate for the NIEA to grant a licence for the storage of thousands of tons of household waste so close to a town centre? Would it not be more appropriate for all concerned to have only a transit site? Would that be possible?

1,432 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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