The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (DoE NI) has been challenged to state just how many parts of Northern Ireland are at risk from sewage pollution. It was revealed this month that a programme to upgrade outdated sewerage systems at some 60 pollution "hotspot" locations has significantly slipped. Five years ago, a temporary planning freeze was imposed on new housing developments in these Ulster district areas, but officials have revealed that these still exist.
Further concerns about other areas have now been raised, following the disclosure of a high-level Government memo from 2004, which states that the list of "hotspots" was in danger of growing, with further sewage treatment facilities becoming overloaded through housing growth. The memo was obtained by Friends of the Earth (FoE) under the Environmental Information Regulations SI 2004/3391, who have since warned that Northern Ireland faces a serious risk of daily fines from Europe for failing to comply with EU standards on sewage treatment.
The "hotspots" upgrade schedule was meant to be completed this year, but has since been extended to at least 2009.
