Public Involvement
To ensure that the community has access to up to date accurate information and is involved in the Dublin Waste to Energy Project, public involvement has been an important element in this project from the very beginning. This will continue up to and including the statutory process and throughout the duration of the plants operating life.
What Has Happened So Far?
To date a number of different initiatives have taken place in relation to public involvement and information provision. A variety of tools have been used in an effort to ensure that all stakeholders in the area are properly informed and involved. This website is one such example of an ongoing information service that aims to keep a wide audience updated on events regarding the project. Other initiatives are described below:
What Happens Next?
The next phase of the project is the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by Elsam. (See section on Environment and Planning). This is an extremely important time for public involvement. The first step in the preparation of an EIA is scoping. Scoping is the time in a project when the broader issues are identified and examined in great detail as the EIA process unfolds. It is a unique opportunity in the development of any initiative to have the issues, questions and concerns that any stakeholder may have about possible impacts included.
Dublin City Council has been listening to the community for over five years on this project and as much as possible have recorded the issues that the community have raised. However, the formal scoping process presents an additional opportunity for the community to have issues recorded and we would urge all stakeholders who have been engaging with the project and have yet to engage with the project to have their views on the project aired. The scoping period is the time during which the EIS is prepared. During this time, opinions will be actively sought from a wide variety of stakeholders using a number of methods. If there are any issues that you feel should be raised as part of this process, please let us know (facility to e-mail back to us).
Once the EIS is submitted, then the statutory consultation on that document commences. The legislation defines this as a six week period and in response to community concerns Dublin City Council proposes to increase this period of time to 12 weeks. In relation to the EIS, the statutory consultation allows for members of the public to comment on whether or not they feel that the impacts identified are accurate and that the ameliorative measures outlined are sufficient. As part of this statutory consultation period, DCC will use a number of different methods to ensure that the information contained in the document is readily accessible to members of the public. Watch this space for further details.
Public participation will continue throughout every phase of the project. The What���s New section of this website will keep you up-to-date with events in the area.