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6.2.3 Soils and Geology National Broadband Plan Intervention Strategy – SEA Environmental Report 6.2.3 Soils and Geology Soil is a valuable resource that performs many ecosystem services: production of food; production of biomass; storage, filtration and transformation of nutrients and water; carbon storage and cycling; and landscape and cultural environment. Such functions of soil are worthy of protection because of their socio-economic as well as environmental importance. Soils in any area are the result of the interaction of various factors, such as parent material, climate, vegetation and human action. Impacts on soils can occur through development generally as well as erosion, loss of organic matter, contamination, industrial pollution and agriculture. Given the strategic nature of the Intervention Strategy, focus of the baseline for soils and geology is at a national level. It is focussed on existing overall soil quality and groundwater vulnerability and known activities which have the potential to impact on geology, soil and subsoil quality. The key issues associated with the roll out of high speed broadband services and soils and geology relate to: . Potential contamination arising during the construction and maintenance phases e.g. spillages of fuel and potential subsequent impacts on land practices (e.g. agriculture, forestry, etc.), groundwater and dependent ecosystems; . Loss of the soil resource during construction activities, or soil sealing caused by the footprint of structures; and . Requirement for the use of natural resources including soil and rock to develop the related infrastructure e.g. bedding and fill for trenches for underground cables, use in access roads, etc. However, it should be noted that the reuse of existing infrastructure will reduce the level of potential impacts on soils and geology. 6.2.3.1 Soils The quality of soils in Ireland is considered generally good although there are pressures impacting on its long-term protection and maintenance particularly from land use changes, intensification of use, urbanisation and contamination of soils (EPA, 2008, 2016). The soils of Ireland are an immensely valuable, and finite, national resource, which forms and evolves slowly over very long periods of time, and can easily be damaged and lost. Soil is a biologically active, complex mixture of weathered minerals (sand, silt and clay), organic matter, organisms, air and water that provides the foundation for life in terrestrial ecosystems. Key soils types categorised according to the landscape they are found in have been set out in Table 6-9. Soil biodiversity is the foundation of many ecosystems and ecosystem services and it is estimated that our soils contain up to a quarter of all living species on earth. This massive resource is responsible for regulating natural processes, controlling pollution, providing food and other resources. MDR1216Rp0003 69 National Broadband Plan Intervention Strategy – SEA Environmental Report Table 6-9 – Soil Classifications by Landscape Types Landscape Soil Type Characteristics Lithosols, Groundwater and Shallow soils on steeper soils, with wet and Mountain Surfacewater Gleys, Podzols, acidic soils in less steep areas Blanket Peat Brown Podzolics, Brown Earths, Mainly acidic in nature. Developed from shale, Hill Surfacewater Gleys sandstone or granite Luvisols, Brown Earths, Brown Soils vary in thickness, with thin deposits Drumlin (small oval Podzolics, Surface-water Gleys, typically containing drier soils than the wetter hills) Groundwater Gleys and Peats soils found at the base of Drumlins. Rendzinas, Luvisols and Surface- Varying thickness soils, some very shallow. Flat to Undulating water Gleys Deeper soils develop on glacial till Brown Earths, Brown Podzolics, More acidic soils are found in the lowland areas Lowland Surface-water and Groundwater underlain by sandstone, shales and granite than Gleys the surrounding hill areas. Groundwater Gleys, Alluvial Soils Soils found at the base of hills and across Alluvial and Valley and Peat floodplains. Despite the importance of soil, there is little in the way of direct EU or national legislation obliging Ireland to maintain soil quality, however indirectly issues such as contaminated land have been dealt with through other legislation (e.g. waste). As far back as 2006, the EC published a proposal Communication (COM(2006) 231) for a framework directive, leading the way for full EU legislation and more recently in 2012 they published a policy report on the implementation of the Strategy and ongoing activities (COM(2012) 46). However in May 2014, the European Commission decided to withdraw the proposal for this directive. The Seventh Environment Action Program has asserted that degradation of soil is a serious problem, both for member states and globally. It is proposed that by 2020 all land in the EU should be managed sustainably and soils afforded protection, with remediation of contaminated sites also laid out as a priority. The European Communities (Environmental Liabilities) Regulations 2008 also lay out an environmental liabilities framework for preventing and remedying damage on, in or under the land. In Ireland some soil protection legislation has been enacted including the 2011 EIA Regulations for On Farm Development which, include a requirement for EIA of soil operations such as soil drainage. The EPA, in conjunction with Teagasc and Cranfield University, launched the Third Edition Soil Map in 2014, part of the Irish Soil Information System, a project which combined traditional soil survey techniques with digital mapping in a GIS-based soil information system. Phase 1 of the project began in 2008 and was completed in 2014, with Phase 2 progressing from 2015. This project provides valuable information on existing soils in the county. The overall objective of the project was to produce a harmonized soil map of Ireland at a scale of 1:250,000 with an associated web-based soil information system in the public domain. Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme has been prepared in accordance with Article 5 of the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) and is applied to the state as a whole. As such there are no designated nitrate vulnerable zones as is the case in some other European countries. MDR1216Rp0003 70 National Broadband Plan Intervention Strategy – SEA Environmental Report Soil Contamination In April 2007, the EPA published a Code of Practice that provides a framework for the identification of contaminated sites, the assessment of the potential risks associated with them and the identification of the appropriate remedial measures or corrective actions required to minimise risk to the environment and human health. Following the publication of the code, the EPA trained local authority staff on its use and application. Local authorities are now implementing the Code and the EPA is overseeing its implementation; however, a list of contaminated sites across Ireland is not centrally compiled. The EU also has directive regarding the control of major accident hazards, commonly known as the Seveso III Directive (2012/18/EC). This is given effect in Irish law through the Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances (COMAH) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 209 of 2025). The Directive aims to prevent major accident hazards involving dangerous substances and chemicals and the limitation of their consequences for people and the environment. Seveso sites are defined as industrial sites which, because of the presence of sufficient quantities of dangerous or hazardous substances, must be regulated under this EU directive. If there are planning applications for development occurring within a certain distance of the perimeter of a Seveso site, the Health and Safety Authority (HAS) provides appropriate advice to the planning authorities in respect of development within a distance of these sites. As of March 2017, the HSA lists that there are 45 Lower Tier Seveso sites and 46 Upper Tier Seveso sites in Ireland.16 Slope Stability and Landslide Potential Ireland is fortunate not to be a high-risk area for landslides, though landslides do occur, however infrequently, with the most occurrences in coastal, upland and peat bog areas. Though the potential for major destructive landslides is slight, there have been instances of severe events in Ireland in the past. Historically, the GSI has recorded 2,781 landslide events nationally. The GSI Irish Landslides Working Group (ILWG) has compiled a landslide database in order to assess the scale of the landslide problem historically and also to assess the susceptibility of areas to landslide hazard in the future. This has direct relevance to the sustainable development of the landscape in terms of infrastructure provision and is an important issue for the planning process. This national landslide susceptibility mapping was completed in 2016. The majority of the country (approximately 80%) is classed as having ‘Low’ landslide susceptibility. The data indicates that risk increases to ‘Moderately High’ and ‘High’ in more uplands areas, notably the Wicklow Mountains in the east and around the more mountainous parts of the west coast of Ireland particularly in Counties Cork, Kerry, Galway and Donegal. 6.2.3.2 Land Cover The main source of national scale information on land cover in Ireland is the European Environment Agency (EEA) CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) land cover data series, which is an EU-wide inventory of land cover in 44 classes categorised from satellite
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