Case against firm dismissed following pollution ‘incident’ at Limerick GAA ground

A DRAINAGE company has been found not guilty of criminal charges brought following an investigation into the contamination of a private well at a GAA club which resulted in more than 60 people developing gastroenteritis.

Clare Drains Environmental Limited was prosecuted under the provisions of the Waste Management Act arising from an “incident” which was alleged to have occurred at Croagh/Kilfinny GAA grounds on June 28, 2019.

The company was accused of failing to report the incident, in accordance with the terms of its permit and with “holding, transporting, recovering or disposing of waste in a manner that caused or was likely to cause environmental pollution”.

Opening the case at Newcastle West District Court, solicitor Will Leahy, representing Limerick City and County Council, said the company had been contracted by Irish Water to de-sludge a waste water treatment plant which is located near the GAA club.

The work, he said, was carried out a day before an inter-county camogie tournament which was hosted by Croagh/Kilfinny Camogie Club.

Judge Mary Larkin was told 62 women became unwell after they drank water at the clubhouse during the tournament and that a number of investigations were carried out.

Mr Leahy said while the alleged offence had been identified as a result of the local authority’s investigation, the case before the court was not that Clare Drains had caused the private well to be polluted or contaminated.

Giving evidence during a lengthy hearing, senior executive engineer Gerard Doherty, said he became aware that there was a “drinking water issue” on July 1 and that samples taken from the private well at the GAA club confirmed it had been contaminated.

Having conducted initial inquiries, Mr Doherty said he formed the opinion that an incident had occurred in the car park of the GAA club which warranted further investigation.

As part of that investigation, Mr Doherty contacted the defendant company and requested a full report in relation to the works which were carried out the day before the camogie tournament.

He also spoke to a number a club representatives after it was alleged there had been a spillage as waste material was being transferred between two of the defendant company’s trucks.

This was strenuously denied by solicitor Daragh Hassett who said it was his client’s case that no spillage occurred and that there was no incident to report.

Mr Doherty told the court he conducted a site visit at Croagh/Kilfinny GAA Club on July 5, 2019. He said he observed what appeared to be dry organic matter in ruts near the cap of the well which feeds the clubhouse.

While this supported the complaints which had been received, he accepted that samples of the material were not taken and that no analysis was carried out.

In his evidence, club member Peter Richardson said he was cutting the grass on June 28 when he observed two trucks in the car park of the GAA club.

He told Mr Leahy that at around 11.30am he saw a “brown spray coming from the smaller of the two trucks and a man running towards it”.

He said the incident occurred near the well and that he noticed, a number of hours later, that the area was still wet.

Being questioned by Mr Hassett, Mr Richardson agreed he was not overly concerned by what he saw and he said he did not take any photographs as he does not own a smartphone.

Mr Hassett put it to the witness that he was incorrect and that what he saw was water spray associated with the “washing down” of the vehicles.

Chemist Mary Burke, who prepared a report for the defendant company, told the court that she carried out a site inspection on July 4, 2019.

She said she got down on her hands and knees to examine the area where the spillage was alleged to have occurred.

She said she found nothing untoward and that there was no evidence of a major sewage spillage having occurred.

“I didn’t find any evidence to back up allegations of a sewage spillage,” she said.

Ms Burke said there were also significant discrepancies in the amounts of ammonia found in the samples taken from the well at Croagh/Kilfinny GAA club and those taken from the sludge which had been removed from the waste water treatment plant on the day of the alleged incident.

“The samples from the well do not correlate with the sludge taken from the waste water treatment plant,” she said.

In his evidence, Ciaran Browne – an operative with Clare Drains – told the court that he was supervising the operation to remove the sludge from the waste water treatment plant.

He said three trucks were deployed and that the method-statement had been supplied to both Irish Water and Limerick City and County Council in advance.

Almost 80,000 litres of waste was taken from the plant and transported to the Bunlicky treatment plant on the Dock Road.

Mr Browne confirmed that 30,000 litres of waste was transferred between two of trucks in the car park of the GAA club but that there was no incident.

He said there are procedures in place to ensure spillages do not occur and that the only spray on the day would have been associated with the washing down of the pipes and trucks which, he said, is done using a power hose and water from a hydrant.

Judge Larkin noted the defendant company has been in business for more than 18 years and that it has no previous convictions.

Dismissing the charges, she said there was a direct conflict and that the evidence before her did not meet the required test.

Therefore, she said she was not satisfied that an incident had occurred, as alleged. 

She refused an application from Mr Hassett for his costs.