Judicial review puts temporary stop to revised Lough Funshinagh flood works
An environmental group has today (Tuesday) been granted permission to bring a judicial review of Roscommon County Council's interim emergency flood relief works for Lough Funshinagh.
The works had been approved by the CEO of Roscommon County Council, Eugene Cummins, on October 14 last, and involved what the council described as 'scaled-back' flood relief measures at Lough Funshinagh.
The Friends of the Irish Environment group (FIE) is now bringing the judicial review having previously taken a High Court action back in August which stopped work on a larger flood alleviation project that was underway in the area.
Like the work halted in the High Court action, the council's proposed 'interim' scheme involves an overflow pipe from Lough Funshinagh to the River Shannon.
However, the level of overflow discharge from the lake in South Roscommon would, in this case, be limited to "less than 2 million cubic meters of water per annum."
In granting leave to FIE to apply for a judicial review this week, the court imposed a stay on any further works until January 14, 2022, at which stage Roscommon County Council may apply to court to lift the stay.
FIE said it had "considerable sympathy with those affected by the water levels at Lough Funshinagh" but argued that the decision by the council represented a bypassing of environmental and planning law.
It also expressed concern that residents below the exit pipe were not given the opportunity to participate in a significant infrastructure project impacting on their local area.
FIE said it thought long and hard about the decision to bring this case, knowing that further uncertainty would increase the burden on the residents who have genuinely sought this scheme as the solution to their predicament.
In November, the High Court rejected claims that Roscommon County Council's interim emergency flood relief works breached a court order regarding the earlier, larger flood relief scheme.
FIE had alleged the council was in contempt of a court order made following the resolution of the High Court proceedings it brought in August over the construction of a 3km pipeline.
The pipeline was designed to take water from Lough Funshinagh, 12 km from Athlone and a protected site, to nearby Lough Ree.
The August High Court action was resolved - and the work on the flood relief pipeline was halted - after the council accepted it had not fulfilled certain obligations it should have in relation to the works, and agreed to remediate the work it had already carried out.
In a judgment in November, Mr Justice Garrett Simons dismissed an application by FIE for orders that the council's CEO Eugene Cummins be attached and brought to court for his alleged contempt.
The council, represented by Neil Steen SC, denied breaching any court order, and said the remediation plan agreed in August was being complied with.
The council said it was carrying out those works to help alleviate severe flooding which threatens the homes of people living close to Lough Funshinagh.
In his judgement in November, the judge held that the orders made last August did not preclude the council from seeking to carry out the flood relief works under a different statutory regime to the one that had been successfully challenged by FIE earlier this year.
The judge added that the works approved in October were "significantly scaled back" from those that were the subject of the challenge last August.
The judge at the time said that if FIE or anyone else wished to challenge the decision made by the council in mid-October to commence works, then they can bring judicial review proceedings.