Leitrim Observer: Council to make submission on Fracking Research
Leitrim County Council is making a submission as a body on the terms of reference for the EPA’s Programme of Research on Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Gas Exploration & Extraction.
Cllr Mary Bohan asked the Council to make the submission by the deadline this Friday, March 8, stressing the current terms of reference were not broad enough. She asked that the submission include a call for a Health Impact Assessment and also called for the Government to reverse the immunity the EPA currently enjoys from prosecution. Cllr Bohan also said the submission should call for a Senior Official of the Department of Health to be on the steering committee.
A proposal was also put forward to have a Farming representative on the Steering Committee also. County Manager, Jackie Maguire noted that the change in prosecution status of the EPA was not a matter for the Council but she agreed to raise the matter once again with the Minister. She said the Council would draw up a submission containing the remaining proposals. MORE