No Return To Bellanaboy For Shell

mayo | environment | news report

Tuesday April 04, 2006 01:14

by Michael and Bob - Rossport Solidarity Camp

www.rossportsolidaritycamp at gmail dot com

097 20944

This morning saw a frustrating start to the business year for Shell as their subcontractors Roadbridge attempted to access the proposed gas refinery site at Bellanaboy in Erris, Co. Mayo.

At 9:20 Monday morning, a truck carrying earthmoving machinery and a dumper containing gravel tried to gain access to the site to begin preparatory work required to put in place further Axonics water filtration equipment. The way was blocked by approximately 20 protesters, including residents of the Rossport Solidarity Camp and the vehicles were refused access. Shell to Sea are not allowing any equipment onto the site until Mayo County Council and Shell are prepared to explain the need for the additional equipment on a site which they claim is not releasing contaminated water.

It was a very good thing for the driver of the truck that the protestors barred his path as the arm of the digger was set to collide with overhead phone cables!

Erris Shell to Sea very recently exposed the fact that Mayo County Councils own test results have indicated a higher than permissible aluminium content in the drinking water. Amazingly, Mayo County Council are claiming this is a result of human error and insisting the drinking water is uncontaminated, which begs the question: why then increase the amount of filtration equipment on site? Video footage from inside the site has shown dirty water passing through a non-operational filtration system and leaving the site into Carrowmore Lake, source of the local drinking water supply for the Erris region. However, those responsible will not admit that there is a problem and claim the existing equipment is sufficient to purify the waste water, while simultaneously demanding more filters be installed.

Alongside this insult to the intelligence of the residents, Shell mouthpiece Mark Carrigy has made attacks on their character. He claimed live on radio that they had stolen materials from the site and allowed their children to run around unsupervised on the site for three hours. Until these untruths are retracted and the public record is set straight on these matters, Shell to Sea are refusing to allow the equipment on site.

Meanwhile, Shells PR blitz continues as they inundate the local papers with notices. They employed their usual tactic in relation to today’s events; waiting until the end of the main evening news broadcast on local radio station MWR to complain about protesters, which makes it too late for any objector to phone in a comment.

The Rossport Five, Willie Corduff, Micheal O’ Seighin, Brendan Philbin and brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, who are in contempt of court for breaking an injunction placed on them by the High Court for not allowing Shell engineers onto their land to stake out the route of the high-pressure pipeline that leads to the refinery site, spent 94 days in prison last year till their release on September 30th. Ever since their release Justice Finnegan, President of the High Court, has procrastinated in making a final judgement on the punishment he insists he is within his rights to inflict on the five. As all five have been called to appear this Friday, it is believed that he may be preparing to deliver his final decision.

Supporters of the Rossport Five and the Shell to Sea campaign will be gathering outside the High Court on Friday at 10:00. Anyone who wishes to see the injustice being perpetrated against these men and their community by Shell and the State put to an end is encouraged to attend.

too close for comfort

second thoughts

goin out the same way you came in

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Comments (8 of 8)

cool

by W - wsm//anarchist youth

Tue Apr 04, 2006 01:52

Keep up your great work comrades.

re:above comment

by bert

Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:12

keep up the good work comrades

it appears to me that nothing seems to satisfy the needs of the shell to sea group. from reading regional newspapers around mayo where s2s have repeatedly called for shell to do something about thte aluminium levels in carramore lake, the morning that they try to do something about it, protestors block the way. I mean do they think that one excavator and a dumper is going to sneakily build the terminal while the protestors arent looking?

And the point that was made about nothing being allowed in to fix the axonics until shell come clean is ridiculous......in essence, what you are saying is that, even if the filtration system isnt working properly, local residents in erris will have to continue drinking bad water until a certain group of people think they are entitled to permit Shell to resolve the issue.

Wake up and see the bigger picture. You've been sitting in that trailer for the winter months while no machines or anything was there to keep you busy and the second a machine arrives, it's back to the same old "out the way you came in" slogan...for the sake of the people, grow up, have responsibilities and let shell fix this issue

reply to bert

by tracey - rossport solidarity camp

Wed Apr 05, 2006 19:17

bert you obviously havent fully read the above article or any other of the articles about the pollution of carrowmore lake.
when it first emmerged that shell had caused this problem they tried to blame the protesters for not allowing them acess to the site at bellanaboy to sort it out. at a local shell to sea meeting it was decided to allow shell acess to bellanaboy to put a water treatment system in place, because obviously this is our drinking water and none of us want to be drinking high levels of alluminium.
since shell installed the axonics system it has been off more times than on, there is polluted water running off the site, axonics is completley inadaquate. if the system was working perfectly at 24 hrs a day (at the moment it spends 8 hrs a day just cleaning itself) it would take it til next august to just treat the water that is on the site at the moment.
so while shell have been messing around with this system, carrowmore lake is getting polluted the level of alluminium in the water has risen above acceptable levels as set out by the county council. many people up here have started to buy bottled water. a meeting in the broadhaven bay in belmullet about this drew a crowd of 160 people.
and still shell won't take responsibility. if this is the damage they do in preparing to build a refinery imagine what else they will do to this area.
and then they have the cheek to try and bring work vechicles into the site when they know the only reason they have been given acess to the site is to fix the mess they've already made. fair play to everyone at the trailer for the long hours and the dedication they've put in all winter. so bert before you try and have a go at these people maybe you should actually read aa the facts. of course the people at the trailer want the water problem solved, sure its them and their families who have to drink the water, not shell

Shell to sea

by Essie

Thu Apr 06, 2006 01:08

To the Ballinaboy Group

Congratulations on your excellent stance against the Shell company. What you are doing requires real courage and physical stamina. I encourage you to stay strong in your resolve. The truth will come out eventually. Meantime, very best wishes.
Essie

And one more thing Bert.

by Niall

Thu Apr 06, 2006 01:09

Shell don't fix, they break.

at the gates

by local

Sun Apr 09, 2006 22:57

first before i start and before ye're blood pressure goes up a notch or two; i'm not a shell lover nor am i one of those "shell to sea" people, i am just a local, sick to the teeth of listening to crap from both camps; each one trying to get one up on the other. i want to ask, is it since Shell came round here that the water in Carrowmore lake got so poisonous? well I'm afraid Carrowmore lake has had dirty water for as long as i can remember, as any one near that lake can tell you, and some more information for you, there has been carcasses dumped in the lake and not forgetting all the raw sewage, so maybe Shell if their allowed might clean up the water and make it drinkable before they leave!!!!!!!!

local

by tracey - rsc

Fri Apr 14, 2006 15:16

ah come on, theres a big difference between dirty water and water with high levels of alluminium. it was shell who caused this by removing tonnes of peat from bellanaboy in preparation for the refinery site, and thats not a disputed fact, everyone knows that. do you honestly thing shell are going to be going around fishing carcasses out of carrowmore lake? they can barely handle the problem they've already caused.

Observations

by JM

Sat Apr 15, 2006 16:05

Rossport

For those people who have real concerns for the environment and have an interest in the water situation at Bellanaboy, I would like to try and clear up a few matters.

Observations over the winter months by community representatives, including Shell To Sea members, have produced clear evidence of a major cover-up by the so-called responsible bodies, and in particlular Mayo County Council.

Below are the facts presented to the public as detailed below. It is worth bearing in mind that all points raised here can be verified by the words of Shell and the Council themselves.

********************************

Shell-To-Sea Public Meeting - Broadhaven Bay Hotel (09/03/06)

We are not experts, just observers… but we do have eyes, and we can read.
We feel it is our duty to the affected community to share our findings.

POINTS OF FACT

An acknowledged threat to Carrowmore Lake exists on the Bellanaboy site

This water threat is due to the excavation work carried out on that site

Remedial works have been described as urgent since August 2005

Contaminated water has been leaving the site since (at least) early October 2005

The developers have had full access to Bellanaboy for 134 days (and counting)

Mayo County Council have had full access at all times

The proposed treatment system is still not fully operational

Mayo County council have approved the discharge of treated water to Carrowmore Lake

The Axonics treatment system has not been certified to or by Mayo County Council

The treatment system has never been put to the proposed use before

Amounts of treated water are currently being discharged in contradiction of the agreed
Environmental Monitoring Plan of January 2006

Mayo County Council are the responsible statutory body

We don’t wish to alarm people, just to present the facts.

**************************************

The problem has been an ongoing one and yet no-one has claimed any responsibility for decisions taken regarding the site, including these new proposed upgrades to an already experimental system. This must not be allowed to continue.

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No Return To Bellanaboy For Shell

Comments (8 of 8)