2003 Derrybrien landslide
The 2003 Derrybrien landslide occurred on 31 October 2003, on the side of Cashlaundrumlahan, a hill near Derrybrien in County Galway, Ireland. It was focused around turbine 68 in the Derrybrien wind farm, and disrupted further construction.
The landslide dislodged 450,000 cubic metres (16,000,000 cu ft) of peat after days of dry weather.[1] While initially coming to rest 2.50 kilometres (1.55 mi) away, it moved further three weeks later when rains came, entering the Derrywee River (Abhainn Da Loilioch),[2] and eventually spilled 20 kilometres (12 mi) away into Lough Cutra.[3] The lake was also the source of the townland of Gort's drinking water, and this caused disruptions to supply.[2] An impact assessment on the wildlife within the lake determined that more than 50 percent of fish in the lake had been killed due to this pollution, about 50,000 fish of all ages and species groups had perished. A smaller peat slide near turbine 17 had occurred prior to the main movement on the 16th but it did not result in the suspension of the construction of the wind turbine farm.[3]
In 2004, the engineering and construction companies (associated with the wind farm development) were convicted of being responsible for the pollution,[4] while the charges against the wind farm company itself were dismissed.[5] In 2008, the European Court of Justice ruled against the Irish government, noting that an environmental impact assessment should have been undertaken before the project was allowed to proceed.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "EU court rules against Ireland on Derrybrien". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ a b Douglas, Ed (5 July 2006). "The hidden cost of wind turbines". New Scientist. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ a b Richard Lindsay; Olivia Bragg (2004). Wind farms and blanket peat (PDF) (Report). University of East London. pp. 70, 79–87, 111. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2013.
- ^ "Companies convicted for Galway river pollution". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Galway court dismisses pollution prosecution". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
External links
[edit]- "Derrybrien Landslide". Woodland League. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- "The Politics of Peat" – Video containing RTÉ News coverage of the landslide