New row over bio security claims around incinerator site

The Communities Against the Lough Neagh Incinerator group (CALNI) say figures released by Department of Agriculture which have confirmed there are up to 132 flocks of chickens and turkeys within the 'recognised best practice 10km bio-security clearance zone' prove the plant should be located elsewhere.

They say Rose Energy had cited bio-security of flocks in the poultry industry throughout Northern Ireland as one of the main reasons for selecting the Lough Neagh site, but the proximity of so many flocks of chickens and turkeys plus the many thousands of migratory wild birds located around Rams Island and Portmore Lough "makes Lough Neagh one of the worst possible sites in Northern Ireland for such a plant".

Denis Brankin, a local poultry farmer with 4,500 free range hens 300 metres from the proposed incinerator said he was 'deeply angry' that what he regards as a the threat to his livelihood is being ignored. "I have built my business up over the last 15 years and we sell eggs across five counties in Northern Ireland. An incinerator literally next door would destroy our entire free range ethos" he said.

"Surely this plant would be better suited to an industrial setting? I know better than anyone that the poultry industry needs a solution to the chicken litter problem but a rural farming community on the shores of Lough Neagh is not the solution."

Responding to the claims Rose Energy chief executive Osvaldo Mauro-Hun said the incinerator does not represent a biosecurity risk to poultry farms or any other activity in the local area.

He said: "The source of avian flu or any other avian disease and its potential spread to the surrounding area originates from the poultry farms themselves or from infected wild birds. We have chosen the site at Glenavy because of the very small number of commercial poultry farms in that area – therefore the biosecurity risks to the plant are lower. This means that in the event of a disease outbreak in one of the surrounding farms, the Rose Energy plant is less likely to be in a restricted zone and the risk of interruption to our operations is minimised."

He also said the Rose Energy plant will not burn animal carcasses – "this would be technically and physically impossible".

"The plant is designed to burn poultry bedding and Meat and Bone Meal only and the license granted will be based on this. The plant will employ world class technology and will not impact negatively on the surrounding environment. Experience in the UK and Europe - where similar plants have been running safely and successfully for many years - proves this to be the case. We remain fully confident in our proposals and hope that for the future of our agri-food industry the project is given full approval as soon as possible," he concluded.

However, Ray Clarke, Chairman of CALNI, insisted the local community was demandinig a public inquiry, if not an outright rejection of the planning application.

"It is quite clear that other sites such as Ballymena or Kilroot would be more sensible locations if incineration is considered the only solution to the chicken litter problem" he said. "The Environment Minister Edwin Poots has to call a public inquiry or refuse this application. He should encourage Rose Energy to look at other more viable locations or DARD should take more seriously its responsibility to investigate new technologies.

"It will be a disgrace if we have to take legal action to Judicially Review a decision by a local Minister because we know he will lose."