Kilcolgan Residents Telephone: +353-87-2804474 Association Email: [email protected] c/o Island View Web: www.safetybeforelng.com Convent Street Listowel Kilcolgan Residents Association County Kerry Safety before LNG 7 October 2008 Protecting the Shannon Estuary and KILCOLGAN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION & SAFETY BEFORE LNG Submission on proposed Shannon LNG Natural Gas Pipeline and proposed compulsory acquisition of lands thereon from Kilcolgan, County Kerry to Foynes, County Limerick 7 October 2008 An Bord Pleanála, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1. By Email only to: bord@Pleanála.ie Re: GA0003 - Gas pipeline to connect Shannon LNG Terminal at Ralappane, Co. Kerry to existing natural gas network at Leahys, Co. Limerick and DA0003 - Application for an acquisition order for the Shannon LNG Terminal at Tarbert, Co. Kerry to the Bord G áis Eireann Network at Foynes, County Limerick Dear Sir / Madam, The Kicolgan Residents Association represents nearby residents of the proposed LNG regasification terminal and people with close family and economic ties to the area. The ‘Safety Before LNG’ group represents people from both Kilcolgan and the wider community and is advocating responsible strategic siting of LNG terminals in areas which do not put people’s health and safety in danger. See attached signed submissions by Ms. Kathy Sinnott M.E.P1 and Mr. Tony Lowes for “Friends of the Irish Environment”2 on whose behalf this submission is also, therefore, being made. We are hereby formally objecting to the proposed Shannon LNG Natural Gas pipeline and compulsory acquisition order, referenced above, in their entirety, on health, safety, environmental and strategic planning grounds. In May 2006 Shannon LNG, a subsidiary of the American Hess Corporation, announced an option to purchase, subject to planning, the lands at Kilcolgan owned by Shannon Development, of which Councillor John Brassil was a director, to construct an LNG terminal for a price believed by us to be in the region of 28.1 million euros3. The Shannon Foynes Port Company, of which Seanator Ned O’Sullivan (then a councillor) was a director at the time of the rezoning, described the development as follows: “The development site is located immediately to west of Ardmore Point. It is on 1 See Pipeline Appendix I – Signed submission by Ms. Kathy Sinnott M.E.P. 2 See Pipeline Appendix K – Signed submission by “Friends of the Irish Environment”. 3 http://www.shannonlngplanning.ie/files/Newsletters/Issue1.pdfpage 1 State (Shannon Airport Development Co) owned land and is designated for development with a four year option. Shannon LNG is the developer. The company is required to achieve planning permission within 2 years.”4 The lands, at the time, were zoned ‘Rural General’ and ‘Secondary Special Amenity’ and would have normally been subjected to a Strategic Environmental Assessment before rezoning as the proposed LNG project would certainly have a significant effect on the environment in this unspoilt area and given its status as a SEVESO II site. However, RPS, the consultants employed by Kerry county council to undertake the screening report, claimed that they knew nothing about the proposed LNG terminal even though the site was purchased 6 months previously, highly publicised and announced in the Dail (the Upper House of Parliament) by the Minister for Energy and only lands owned by Shannon Development were being rezoned. It is highly incredulous that a reputable company such as RPS was not aware of the LNG terminal proposal, given that it is a top-tier Seveso II development, the most dangerous designation a development can have under the major hazards directive. Incredibly, no SEA was therefore undertaken and a year of Environmental Assessment work was effectively dismissed as unnecessary for a dangerous LNG project. The KRA has lodged a formal complaint with the Standards in Public Office Commission concerning its fears that Councillor Brassil (director of the landowners Shannon Development) and Councillor Ned O’Sullivan (director of Shannon Foynes Port Company), effectively prejudiced an SEA screening report5 in the interest of expediency. It is our contention that the decision to build an LNG terminal was decided at the highest levels in the Irish Government and now the different statutory bodies are retrospectively and negligently approving the LNG project without any concern for safety, environmental or strategic issues. To be quite clear, in our opinion, Kerry County Council refused to carry out an SEA on the lands about to be rezoned for the proposed LNG terminal because there was an option to purchase conditional on obtaining planning permission for an LNG terminal within 2 years on land zoned ‘rural general’ and ‘secondary special amenity’ for a price we believe to be in the region of 28 million euros. A full SEA would have taken upwards on 1 year to complete alone. Therefore, it is our view that the refusal was motivated by this condition to the detriment of the people of the south west on health, safety, environmental and strategic planning grounds. 4 http://www.sfpc.ie/LNG_01_Shannon-Issue%201.pdf Section 3.1 page 22 5 See Pipeline Appendix A - Complaint on possible breach of ethics and conflict of interest by Councillor John Brassil and Senator Ned O’Sullivan to the Standards in Public Office Commission. The current Minister for Energy, Mr. Eamon Ryan T.D., (at the time in opposition) issued the following statement, on the announcement of the proposed LNG terminal on May 22, 20066: “Govt must give clear position on proposed LNG facility in North Kerry - Spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources The Green Party today welcomed the announcement of the proposed new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in North Kerry. Green Party Energy spokesperson Eamon Ryan TD said: This proposed (LNG) facility will help reduce our reliance on gas coming on long distance pipelines running all the way from Siberia. However, today’ s announcement seems to be more of a solo run from Micheál Martin, the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, rather than a real signal of Government plans. No firm analysis has been presented as to how such a facility would work in the Irish market. The lack of any involvement by Energy Minister Noel Dempsey in today’s announcement shows how disjointed the Government has become when it comes to energy policy. We are now calling on Minister Dempsey to outline whether he believes such a facility should be developed and to say whether he agrees with the location and arrangements being promoted by Minister Martin, concluded deputy Ryan.” This current application for a pipeline and compulsory acquisition of lands is another step in what we consider to be an inherently-flawed planning process, bordering on corruption. The main priority of this process seems to be to obtain full planning and associated permissions for an LNG terminal in the minimum of time to rubberstamp a political decision that has already been made to the detriment of the environment, health, and safety and in total disregard for any semblance of proper planning practice and sustainable development. Our concerns in this particular application include the following. 1. Shannon Development’s Annual Report 20067 publicised a photo opportunity on the announcement of the LNG project with Councillor John Brassil, Minister Martin and senior vice president of Hess Corporation Gordon Shearer holding a map of the Greenfield rural site in North Kerry where the LNG terminal is proposed: 6 http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/latest_news/govt_must_give_clear_position_on_proposed_lng_facility_i n_north_kerry 7 http://www.shannonireland.com/media/Media,6816,en.pdfThe Annual Report 2006 of Shannon Development, page 12 (real page 14) Pictured at the announcement by Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, that Shannon Development has signed an ‘option to purchase’ agreement with Shannon LNG, a subsidiary of Hess LNG, for a portion of Shannon Development land bank at Tarbert/Ballylongford, Co Kerry, were (l-r): Kevin Thompstone, Chief Executive, Shannon Development; John Brassil, Board Member, Shannon Development, Eugene Brennan, Development and Marketing Director, Shannon Development, Gordon Shearer CEO, Hess LNG, and Minister Micheál Martin. We are concerned at how Shannon Development could sign an “option-to-purchase” agreement with a developer conditional on obtaining planning permission for a top-tier Seveso II hazardous LNG terminal within 2 years8. It is highly questionable how Shannon Development could guarantee that planning permission could be obtained within 2 years for lands that, at the time, were zoned Rural General and Secondary Special Amenity. 2. In November 2006, RPS published a Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report on the proposed variation to the Kerry County Development Plan. No mention was made of the Shannon LNG proposal. The criteria for determining whether a variation to a development plan requires an SEA is clearly defined in Schedule 2A of the Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations 20049. Seveso sites by their definition are dangerous and subject to the SEVESO Major Accidents Directive and as such fall under Schedule 2A (2) (the risks to human health or the environment (e.g. due to accidents). The full Schedule 2A underlines starkly how an LNG terminal cannot but have a significant effect on the environment and therefore require an SEA. 10 hectares of the proposed LNG development are for building 2 jetties and completing dredging works and ALL of these 10 hectares are on SAC waters. In addition the site surrounds and is surrounded by SAC, NHA and SPA land and water subject to Irish and European Environmental protection legislation. This is 8 http://www.sfpc.ie/LNG_01_Shannon-Issue%201.pdf Section 3.1 page 22 9 C.f. http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2004/en/si/0436.html#article12 Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations 2004 (S.I No 436 of 2004) seen clearly on the map of the Environmental Designated Areas in the Shannon LNG EIS volume 1 page 2.10 3.