Monthly Archives: Mar 2016

INTERCONNECTOR DAY3

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DAY THREE

Michael Fisher  Northern Standard

Brian Murray S.C. for EirGrid confirmed that any work around the pylons would be within the 19m red line space indicated on maps supplied to the Planning Board. He clarified that there would also be a 30m working area around each of the pylons.

This working area would have fencing around it but the erection of the fencing would not involve excavation in any circumstances as the fencing would be free-standing.

Replying to a claim that in some cases temporary access routes to a pylon crossed walls, Mr Murray said if they had been identified, then EirGrid had addressed them by alternative routes and they were happy to address such matters if they were drawn to their attention. His colleague Jarlath Fitzsimons S.C. pointed out that the laying of mats and temporary fencing at a site did not constitute a development and EirGrid had clearly stated this. There would be no removal of gateposts at any location in the Republic, he added.

This section dealt with public and landowner consultation.

CMAPC VIEWS ON CONSULTATION

Allen McAdam, a representative of the County Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee, said the public consultation process had been selectively used by EirGrid to produce the desired outcome. He said the project would bring no economic benefit to Monaghan. However EirGrid said it had carried out consultation that had been meaningful and accountable in accordance with international principles. It also acknowledged that lessons had been learned from feedback received regarding the proposed development. All comments had been brought back and used by the project team.

The social and economic development consultant from Carrickmacross said CMAPC had major concerns in relation to the methodology, approach and execution of the public consultation undertaken by EirGrid and its agents. In the absence of generic national guidelines on best practice in public consultation, the experience by consultees along the proposed line route of the methods used for this project varied from confusing to chaotic.

Mr McAdam is a former chief executive of Cavan/Monaghan LEADER with experience of public consultation processes. He is not one of the landowners directly affected by the construction of pylons but his house is 350m away from the nearest pylon.

He said the consultation process had failed from the outset to provide the general public with adequate visibility of the project. Almost eight years after the process came into the public domain, EirGrid representatives started contacting schools, community groups to try and infiltrate local communities and bribe them with ‘community gain’ money. Mr McAdam claimed this was an underhand approach and a serious interference in the planning process, which the committee understood was a semi-judicial process.

The marketing of mis-information about the project was executed very professionally, he claimed. When the regional action plan for jobs was published by the Department of Jobs Enteprise and Innovation, the interconnector project featured as a driver of job creation, without any evidence to suggest benefit. This was the type of spin consultees on the project had to deal with, he told the inquiry.

Mr McAdam continued: “Let us be clear: this project has no economic benefits to Co. Monaghan. This project can be compared to a motorway going through Monaghan with no roads on or off. No electricity can be put onto this line except in Tyrone or in Meath, as there is no substation in the area.”

“The time has come for the smoke and mirrors to be pushed aside. This line is being developed solely to supply electricity to Northern Ireland, plain and simple. When we talk of strategic infrastructure, of strategic importance to whom are we referring. The answer is quite simple our neighbours in Northern Ireland, not of strategic importance to the Republic of Ireland.”

“The question needs to be asked as to why are the needs of the people of Monaghan in terms of protecting their properties, they livelihoods, their countryside and their beautiful corner of rural Ireland being sold out to accommodate the needs of Northern Ireland, who through lack of foresight and proper future- and resilience-proofing of their electricity supply needs, find themselves in a position where they will run out of electricity in a few short years. I ask the question: are the views and needs of the residents of Northern Ireland more valued than the residents of County Monaghan?”

There was no evidence to suggest any meaningful feedback was collated and relayed to the people of Monaghan, he said. In a number of cases regarding the route access point for construction of pylons, the landowners were not approached or contacted by any means to inform them of the proposal contained in this planning application until a few short days prior to the lodging of this second EirGrid application.

Accountable consultation meant a project only moved forward once each phase had been appropriately dealt with. Obviously EirGrid thought it was appropriate to move from the final re-evaluation stage to the preferred project solution stage in just six weeks without taking into account the consultation that was held in Co. Monaghan.

Mr McAdam told the inspectors that in March 2015, EirGrid reviewed the line and moved eleven pylons in Monaghan without so much as a shred of public consultation or indeed consultation with the affected landowners. They were just issued new maps and in essence told to like it or lump it.

County Monaghan Anti Pylon Committee organised three consultation/information events in May 2013 in the local community centres of the affected areas (Cremartin, Aughnamullen and Corduff-Raferagh) in order to facilitate EirGrid. In excess of 600 people attended these events but yet again the genuine concerns presented to EirGrid were dismissed and relegated to an appendix in their final report which was published swiftly a few short weeks later.

A short one-page questionnaire was developed and made available for completion as attendees left the consultation after meeting EirGrid representatives. Of the 600 or so that attended, 460 questionnaires were completed.

Summary of key findings

  • 65% of respondents were local residents, 34% landowners directly affected and 1% public representatives.
  • 95% of respondents attended the consultation sessions to lodge an objection.
  • 99% of respondents indicated that they were not in favour of the project in its current format.
  • 53% felt that there questions were only partly answered by Eirgrid staff and 38% felt that their questioned were unanswered.
  • 58% went to the consultations with a specific question they wanted answered, 9% had their question answered, 53% had it partly answered and 38% not at all.

The numbers of landowners with property directly in the path of the line route who have participated in the consultation process has not been documented or acknowledged, nor has the large percentage that have expressed concerns or opposition to the project through their properties.

It is therefore factually correct to say that the results of the consultation process were skewed and interpreted in an unfair manner, with a pre determined result in mind, which is in keeping with the pre-planning consultation meeting for the first attempt at this application with An Bord Pleanala in July 2007.

To this day no detailed breakdown of the results of the consultation process with the general public has been published. The opinions and views of landowners, community organisations or the broader local community have not been published. The only information that has been published is correspondence from state agencies that are in support of the project. This selective publication has proven divisive and counter productive and does nothing to generate any confidence in the planning and consultation process.

In conclusion Mr McAdam said the Anti-Pylon Committee felt strongly that the consultation process had fallen far short of what should be required for a project of this magnitude. They accepted that levels of engagement did improve the second time around, however no credence was given to the views of the vast majority of those that did participate.

NEPPC EVIDENCE

Padraig O’Reilly of North East Pylon Pressure Campaign said there was a widely held view that the consultation process was a sham and a pretence. It was quite clear, he said, that EirGrid had pre-determined the type of application and the overhead nature of the line. From day one there were no plans to make any changes despite EirGrid’s rhetoric about consultation with landowners and members of the public.

Mr O’Reilly referred to the fact that the ballroom where the public hearing was taking place was quite empty on Wednesday compared to the previous hearing in 2010 when many objectors were present. He claimed this highlighted the lack of confidence and disillusionment among landowners in the way the process had gone over the last six years since EirGrid withdrew the previous application.

He added that the lack of public attendance was not a message that there was any reduction in resistance to the overhead lines proposal. It was still a very live issue and his group had held a number of very well attended public meetings in the past year to discuss their opposition. He told the inspectors there was no genuine plan by EirGrid to consult or to get information on landowners. The manner they had gone about it was unacceptable, he said.

He said a large number of landowners were totally unaware that EirGrid intended to use their land and property to get access to construct pylons on a neighbour’s lands. In addition, some of those landowners that were designated for having pylons erected on their property were unaware of plans by EirGrid to seek an access route that would go on a neighbour’s land.

The NEPPC representative quoted a letter from one landowner the group was representing at the hearing. He told them he had been totally unaware of what was being proposed for his property until they told him. EirGrid was planning to use his house entrance for an access route that would go through his property. He would be obliged to demolish a stables to allow access to his neighbour’s property.

The NEPPC representative pointed out that there had been no public or site notices about the proposed access routes for construction of the pylons. He claimed that in the current application the EirGrid submission had used a lot of the information that had been shared with them six years ago.

A company that had loads of resources should be doing its own job properly, he said. For that reason he was not in a position to give the company information about the problems of individual landowners on this occasion.

Mr O’Reilly claimed that photomontages submitted by EirGrid were not representative of the impact on the environment of the planned pylons. The photos rarely showed a house, he said. He compared three pictures provided by the Board with three of their own, which he said showed more clearly the effect of having a pylon close to a house

EIRGRID RESPONSE

Neasa Kane is a consultant with RPS Project Communications which has been advising EirGrid on handling the public consultation exercise. She said that the company had learned lessons since the last application. Consultation had been meaningful and accountable. The feedback received regarding the proposed development had been brought back and used by the project team.

She said the company had adopted multiple channels in reaching out to people to ensure there was an awareness of the project at all stages. These included the establishment of a low-cost phone line, publishing brochures, opening information centres including one in Carrickmacross, extensive media campaigns and additional events.

Regarding a claim by the NEPPC and CMAPC that some landowners affected by the construction of the pylons were not identified by Eirgrid, project engineer Shane Brennan said as they as far they were aware, all landowners were identified based on the most recent and up-to-date land registry information.

The presiding inspector accepted that Eirgrid were constrained by the land registry information, but said the issue would come up at a later point in the oral hearing.

SINN FÉIN REACTION

Sinn Féin MEP for the Midlands North West Matt Carthy attended the first day of the oral hearing along with Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín. Mr Carthy said: “The plan to construct 299 pylons at 26-51 metres height each through the counties of Monaghan, Cavan and Meath is fiercely opposed by the vast majority within our communities.”

He went on: “It is my firm belief that EirGrid have failed to understand the depth of local opposition to the construction of these pylons. Sinn Féin representatives have been working closely with all those groups and communities across Monaghan, Armagh, Cavan and Meath who have been campaigning on this issue since 2007 and it is clear that their determination is as resolute as ever. The concerns of local communities are very real; there are genuine concerns in relation to health, safety, the environment and economic development of the areas concerned.”

“The position of these communities is very clear – this project can only proceed if undergrounded. Sinn Féin supports this stance – the party has prepared a submission to an Bord Pleanála and my colleague Peadar Toibín prepared legislation on this issue during the last Dáil term. The fact is that EirGrid have been able to underground other projects on a similar scale such as Grid West and Grid Link and it has been confirmed that undergrounding is also possible in this case.”

“Indeed, many argue that in the medium to long term, undergrounding is economically beneficial. Of course, in order to address this issue in the comprehensive manner it requires there is an onus on the new government, when it is in place, to direct that all high voltage power line networks proceed only on the basis of undergrounding.”

INTERCONNECTOR DAY2

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DAY TWO

This section dealt with the legal and statutory processes.  

Michael Fisher    Northern Standard

Esmond Keane SC for NEPPC told day two of the oral hearing in Carrickmacross that the North/South interconnector planning application by EirGrid was entirely invalid, fundamentally flawed and would be detrimental to landowners. He said EirGrid had not been given statutory power to construct the lines themselves and it was the ESB which had such power. So this was not a valid application from a person entitled to apply to carry out the development, he claimed.

The barrister said there was a possible conflict of interest in An Bord Pleanála deciding the planning application also being designated as the relevant authority in the Republic to manage an EU energy infrastructure Project of Common Interest. Referring to the environmental impact statement, Mr Keane said it failed to comply with what was required. There must be early and effective participation of the public in the consultation process. But this was utterly misconstrued by EirGrid. There had been no effective opportunity for the public to participate about how undergrounding of the power lines could be carried out.

Mr Keane said planning drawings showing proposed 400kV line pylons were utterly incomplete and inadequate. EirGrid said the towers ranged in height from 26m to 51m (80ft to 165ft). It was utterly inappropriate for members of the public not to be shown details of the insulators, conductors and points of connection for the towers in each area and how they related to their own homes. The drawings had failed utterly to give proper notice of what this development comprised of.

“One would have thought EirGrid on this occasion would have shown all the elements of the development and shown all elements of each tower at each location”, the barrister said. There was no idea from the drawings where a fibre optic cable mentioned in some of the documentation would go and if it would be strung between the pylons with the other wires.

Michael O’Donnell, a barrister representing Braccanby Irish Farm LLC and NV Irish Farm LLC in County Meath, told the hearing the entire basis of the planning application had been predicated on a fundamental error. It was not even clear who the applicant was because the construction work was purportedly to be carried out by the ESB, acting as an agent of EirGrid. He said the Planning Board was being put in an impossible position in deciding the application because it was also acting as the competent authority for a project of common interest.

EirGrid’s response was given by Brian Murray S.C. who confirmed that they were the applicants and all planning documentation stated this. So there could be no doubt who the applicant was. He explained that EirGrid exercised a close monitoring role regarding any construction carried out by the ESB on its behalf and such work was monitored by EirGrid engineers. EirGrid was the electricity system operator and was the proper applicant, he insisted. He said there was no legal inhibition on Bord Pleanála operating as a planning assessor and having a separate unit to consider PCIs.

EirGrid senior planning consultant Des Cox was asked by the NEPPC counsel Esmond Keane about arrangements for construction work around pylons and access routes. He explained that the temporary routes would not involve excavation or the laying of stones or wooden sleepers, but instead rubber mats or aluminium tracks would be laid on land required to gain access to pylon sites.

Asked if it would require the removal of hedges and the construction of entrances, Mr Cox replied that regarding hedges there would be a cutting down in some cases but not removal. Regarding a specific site near Kingscourt in County Cavan where the NEPPC claimed a new entrance would be needed, Mr Cox replied: “I do not know; I am not down at that level of detail”.

 

 

 

INTERCONNECTOR DAY1

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BORD PLEANÁLA HEARING ON EIRGRID INTERCONNECTOR PLAN OPENS

Michael Fisher  NORTHERN STANDARD

A legal move by anti-pylon campaigners failed to halt the opening on Monday of a planning enquiry into a major project by EirGrid to construct a high voltage electricity line through Meath and parts of Cavan and Monaghan extending into Northern Ireland. Two inspectors from An Bord Pleanála began a hearing in Carrickmacross concerning the proposed North/South 400kV interconnector.

The hearing has been divided into two parts and it’s expected it could last up to three months. Over 900 submissions comprising over 2000 people and groups were made to An Bord Pleanála, most of them objecting to the overhead power lines and pylons.

DAY ONE

Project overview and views of the planning authorities.

The inspectors heard an overview of the project from EirGrid and brief submissions by planners from the three local authorities involved. But when the inspectors began the section dealing with legal and statutory processes, a challenge was made by a lawyer on behalf of the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign.

He asked the inspectors to adjourn the oral hearing because NEPPC had earlier in the day attempted to get it stopped at the High Court in Dublin. Judge Humphreys did not grant an interlocutory injunction but agreed to a review involving all parties on Friday 18th March. Senior planning inspector Breda Gannon said she intended to proceed with the hearing until such time as she received any court order to stop.

Sitting alongside another inspector Deirdre McGowan, Ms Gannon explained at the outset that this was an information gathering exercise for the Board. She said she would prepare a report and make a recommendation. The ultimate decision on the application rested with the Board, who she said might or might not approve it, with or without modifications.

This is the second such inquiry in over five years. A previous hearing in 2010 ended abruptly when a discrepancy was exposed in the planning documentation regarding the height of pylons and EirGrid withdrew the application.

INTERCONNECTOR PLAN

The high voltage line proposed by EirGrid would connect the electricity systems on both sides of the border. It would run for 103km from an existing sub-station at Woodland near Batterstown in County Meath, through a small part of County Cavan and through 42 townlands in County Monaghan. This section in the Republic would have 299 pylons ranging in height from 26m to 51m above ground level to carry the overhead wires. 165 of the pylons would be in County Meath, covering 54.5km and 134 in Cavan/Monaghan covering 46km of the line.

At Lemgare near Clontibret the line would cross into County Armagh and thence to Turleenan near the Moy in County Tyrone. This section is subject to a separate investigation by the NI Planning Appeals Commission, which will hold a one-day preliminary hearing in Armagh in June to consider legal issues.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

A barrister for EirGrid outlined why the semi-state company needed to construct the second interconnector. He outlined some of the technical reasons why the line was needed to balance the supply systems North and South.

Jarlath Fitzsimons S.C. told the hearing the project was essential to secure safe, reliable, economic and efficient electricity supply between the Republic and Northern Ireland. He said that an independent report by international experts in 2012 had estimated that undergrounding of the wires would cost three times more than putting them overhead. EirGrid was therefore proposing that the best technical solution was for a wholly overhead line.

He explained that the electricity markets North and South were interlinked and interdependent. If for any reason either accidental or deliberate the current interconnector was disabled then the consequences would be very grave indeed. If the imbalance caused by such an event was not corrected quickly then a system could collapse, he said.

Mr Fitzsimons said it was estimated the development would save €20m annually from 2020 rising to between €40m and €60m from 2030 onwards.

EirGrid senior planning consultant Des Cox explained the proposed route for the interconnector. Using maps he showed how the pylons had been sited in order to avoid residential areas where possible. Consideration was also given to avoid areas where there were important archaeological or geological features, and heritage interests. He said the application included a temporary storage yard for materials outside Carrickmacross.

MONAGHAN COUNTY COUNCIL

Toirleach Gourley a senior executive planner with Monaghan County Council said the EirGrid response to submissions published in December represented much of what was set out in the original application. A number of issues previously raised by the Council remained to be addressed, he said. He outlined some of these for the inspectors. Some of the detail about temporary access routes for the construction of pylons was quite limited.

Regarding photomontages that had been supplied by EirGrid, he said a number of these were not representative of the views at various locations and no new information had been provided to address this issue. Concerning roads, the Council still had concerns about the transport of excess soil from pylon construction sites to a waste disposal area and how it could impact on local roads that could not physically accommodate larger vehicles. The proposed video survey of roads before and after the erection of pylons was inadequate in terms of identifying any damage to them.

Mr Gourley said the Co. Monaghan heritage officer believed there was still insufficient information regarding the potential impact on archaeology and protected structures. The view of the council’s tourism officer was that the development will have an adverse impact on tourism in the county, in areas such as the Monaghan Way.

A senior executive planner for Meath County Council Fiona Redmond pointed out that since their submission last year commenting on the EirGrid application, the Council had approved in December a new county development contribution scheme 2016-2021 which came into effect on 1st January. She pointed out that the infrastructure charge for erecting a 400 kV pylon would be €10,000 per pylon to be paid by the developer.

CMAPC SUBMISSION ON LEGAL PROCESSES

The County Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee was represented by Nigel Hillis. He told the inspectors EirGrid last week published its latest All Island Generation Capacity Statement 2016 – 2025. It stated that the second North-South interconnector was vital to ensure the security of electricity supply for the future in both Northern Ireland and Ireland.

“In association with the competent authorities in the respective jurisdictions, we are actively progressing work to deliver this Project of Common Interest by 2019”, the document said.

Mr Hillis observed that it was not clear from this if the competent authorities referred to were the competent authorities under the (cross-border) Project of Common Interest regulations or the competent authorities with regards to planning matters.

In any event it did not matter as there was only one competent decision making authority in this case, namely An Bord Pleanála. So therefore, EirGrid and An Bord Pleanála were actively progressing work to deliver this PCI.

Mr Hillis asked if this planning application had been prejudged. “Has the decision been made? Are we wasting our time coming to this oral hearing?”, he told the inspectors.

A lawyer for the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign requested that their submission on legal matters be adjourned until the morning as their senior counsel was not in a position to make a presentation, owing to his involvement that day with the case in Dublin.

Presiding Inspector Breda Gannon said the NEPPC was inconveniencing the hearing. She had allocated five hours for them to speak and in the circumstances she had no choice but to finish the first day of the hearing early. She penalised the group by reducing their allocated time to three hours when the hearing resumed on Tuesday morning.

INTERCONNECTOR

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IMG_20160128_223901A Bord Pleanála oral hearing begins on Monday 7th March into EirGrid’s latest proposal for a North/South electricity interconnector, one of the largest ever infrastructure projects in the history of the state. Two inspectors from the Planning Board began hearing submissions at the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross.

The plan proposes building 299 pylons in the Republic to carry a high voltage (400kV) power line from Woodland in Co. Meath where there is an existing substation to Turleenan near the Moy on County Tyrone. It would pass through Meath, a small part of Co. Cavan near Kingsport and then through 42 town lands in Co. Monaghan. The line is due to cross the border at Lemgare near Clontibret, beside Derrynoose in Co. Armagh. eirgridLogo

The line is a total of 135km long. The Northern Ireland section is subject to a separate planning application by EirGrid’s subsidiary SONI. It is under review by the Planning Appeals Commission, which will hold a preliminary public hearing in Armagh on June 21st to examine legal aspects of the application.

The Commission was requested by the NI Department of the Environment to conduct a public inquiry under Article 31(2) of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 for the purpose of considering representations made in respect of the 2009 application. The inquiry opened on 6th March 2012 but was adjourned on 20th March 2012 when it came to light that the application and the environmental statement and its addenda had not been properly advertised in the press. The Commissioners recommended that before it was re-advertised, the environmental statement should be consolidated and updated to take account of changes put forward by the applicants in their evidence to the inquiry.

On 9th October 2014, the NI Environment Department renewed its request for a public inquiry into the 2009 application for the electricity interconnector proposal and asked that it be conjoined with an inquiry into the 2013 application for associated works. Copies of a consolidated environmental statement relating to both applications had previously been forwarded to the Commission. However, in a further letter dated 18th November 2014, the Department informed the Commission of the applicant’s intention to submit additional environmental information relating to the trans-boundary landscape and visual effects of the proposed development.

The Commission said it would take no further action in relation to the inquiry until:-       the additional environmental information had been submitted and the public consultation period had elapsed;
the Commission was provided with copies of all documents relevant to and arising from the additional information; and
the Department confirmed that it had in its possession all the environmental information it considered necessary to meet the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and Regulations.

System Operator for Northern Ireland welcomed the news that the PAC public enquiry would recommence in June. It said the North South Interconnector was required urgently for security of electricity supply in Northern Ireland. It said the proposed project would reduce electricity prices and provide Northern Ireland with a secure electricity supply by linking the grids in NI and the Republic.

After being referred to the PAC, the Public Inquiry hearing originally began in March 2012 and was subsequently adjourned to allow the submission of further information relating to the planning application. Having received all relevant information, the PAC has notified SONI that proceedings can now continue, a major milestone for the project as SONI’s General Manager Robin McCormick explained:

“We are pleased to have been notified by the PAC about the recommencement of the public inquiry into the North South Interconnector. It is a critical piece of infrastructure, essential for a secure supply of electricity for Northern Ireland. It will also significantly reduce the cost of electricity for consumers across the entire island and will allow us to increase our use of renewable energy, reducing Northern Ireland’s reliance on imported fossil fuels. SONI has worked tirelessly to progress the planning application to make these benefits a reality.

“The project is fundamental to the Northern Irish economy and is supported by DETI, the Utility Regulator and all of the main business organisations including CBI, Northern Ireland Chamber and Manufacturing NI, but, in order to keep the lights on and to avoid increasing consumer costs, the interconnector must be built by 2019 and to that end, we would hope for a speedy resolution from the inquiry.”

“We understand that some people have concerns, especially when it comes to large infrastructure projects of this nature. We have teams on the ground, listening and responding to those concerns and would like anyone with questions to know that we are available for discussions, up until the inquiry begins.”

SONI’s specially appointed Agricultural Liaison Officer Fergal Keenan, is available to provide information about the project and can be contacted directly at 07966-930844 or via email fergal.keenan@soni.ltd.uk.