Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received a finalised list of contaminated sites promised by the Environmental Protection Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35584/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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While there is no single national inventory of contaminated sites, which would include old landfills, abandoned mine sites and former industrial activities such as steel or gas works, the Environmental Protection Agency, in its 4th State of the Environment Report entitled Ireland's Environment 2008, estimated the number of commercial sites where there is a potential for soil/and or groundwater contamination to be somewhere between 1,980 and 2,300. The EPA has published an inventory and risk classification of historic mine sites jointly with the Geological Survey of Ireland; copies can be downloaded from the Agency's website at www.epa.ie

A ministerial policy direction was issued on 3 May 2005 in regard to compliance by local authorities with the requirements of section 22 of the Waste Management Act 1996 to prepare an inventory and risk assessment of all non-licensed closed landfills where disposal or recovery activities have taken place. In addition, under the Waste Management (Certification of Historic Unlicensed Waste Disposal and Recovery Activity) Regulations 2008, local authorities are obliged to identify and register by 30 June 2009 all closed unlicensed landfills which were operated by them during the period 15 July 1977 to 27 March 1997, when EU relevant requirements were given full effect in Ireland through the waste licensing system now operated by the EPA.

My Department understands from the EPA that all local authorities have complied with this registration requirement. A total of 315 sites have been identified as coming within the remit of these Regulations and 278 or 88% have been risk assessed. Of these, 57 sites are classified High Risk, 93 Medium Risk and 128 Low Risk. When other sites, such as illegal sites, private sites and pre-1977 sites are taken into account, the overall number of sites involved is 498. Details of the sites involved may be obtained from the individual local authority registers.