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Council answers Carnagarve critics 11.09.07

DONEGAL County Council yesterday defended its decision to commission an expensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the controversial Moville/Greencastle sewerage scheme at Carnagarve.
The local authority also disputed the amount of money campaigners against the scheme claimed it had spent on the environmental report.
The Campaign for a Clean Estuary said nearly €500,000 had been "squandered" by the local authority on the EIS when new legislation now rendered it unnecessary.
Campaigner Enda Craig and group members said:"We feel the County Manager has no choice now but to consider his position," said Mr. Craig. The group also called for Donegal North East's three TDs to back their call for an investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General into the EIS spend.
However, acting director of services Peadar McRory said while the EIS had to be withdrawn from the Council's submission to An Bord Pleanala, it would still form the basis of any future decision about the location of the sewerage treatment plant at Carnagarve.
"There has been no waste of money whatsoever in this case," he said. "We've spent in the region of €200,000 on environmental studies that had to be carried out irrespective of adjudication.
"Because of the controversy and the trans-boundary nature of the waters in Lough Foyle and because of the environmental issues that have to be asked and answered, we felt it was better to get an independent adjudication and that's why we decided to go down the road of an EIS," he said.
He said the contents of the EIS would now be used by all relevant parties when considering the location of the scheme.
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