Strabane District Council has been fined £20,500 for storing mixed municipal waste without obtaining a waste management licence beforehand.
Strabane Magistrates' Court found 11 breaches of the waste management legislation. Northern Ireland Environment Agency officers found the Council operated Newtownstewart site was in poor condition. There were concerns an insecure shed was open to the elements and had no drainage from the loading bay.
A NIEA spokesman said, "In spite of repeated warnings from the NIEA and a notice directing that waste bulking activities must cease and the waste already there be removed, Strabane District Council continues to operate the site."
Strabane District Council pointed an accusatory finger at the planning service and the NIEA. A spokesperson said the Council had been, "Trying to secure planning permission for the site for four years. Our application has failed to progress despite our best efforts professionally and politically. Officers have been contacting the planning service on an ongoing basis and we have written to the Environment Minister. This delay in the planning application has equated with a delay in securing a licence with the NIEA. It is unfortunate both agencies could not have co-operated more."
The Council defiantly concluded, "We are confident that this facility does not cause a nuisance; there has been no pollution and we have received no complaints about the site. We will continue to operate out of this site on a temporary basis until another waste transfer site is identified with the planners."
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