Much has been said over recent days, weeks, and a month or two about the proposed gas storage project on and near Islandmagee.
It just happens there is a council election looming on the 2nd May, and all sorts are coming out of the woodwork to condemn and oppose the plans. Wait - even some have done a U-turn on previous claims to please the electorate (i.e. try and earn votes!).
Because of this, I thought it was time to revive a few articles, comments, and opinions so that the people of this - my -area know exactly who is being sincere or not. (And forgive me if this goes on a bit but I think it's both necessary and worth it.)
Since this project as such first raised its head around 2011/12, I am the ONLY elected councillor to have opposed it from then until now. That was 2+ years before an election then, and 7 years before this one - so I hope you can see I have had genuine objections and not just self-gain at heart.
History
Late in 2012, the SDLP Minister responsible for environmental issues - Alex Attwood - granted approval for the project to proceed. At the time, I very strongly objected on the grounds that this was done with little to no community consultation:
‘Residents’ views have been ignored’ – Deputy Mayor Read more at: https://www.larnetimes.co.uk/news/residents-views-have-been-ignored-deputy-mayor-1-4404339
There can be no doubt as to my opposition - here is an excerpt from an email of 18 October:
Indeed, as Deputy Mayor of Larne at the time, I gave an interview to UTV Live in opposition to the proposal.
Following this, things died down for a while, as did a number of other energy proposals for the area, due to a range of reasons, including loss of interest, permission hurdles, and funding.
That was until mid to late last year when, with a change in personnel and structures, the gas storage project again raised its head and was progressing a bid for EU funding. As part of the restructuring, the proposed number of caverns was dropped from 8 to 7 earlier this year in order to reduce capital expenditure.
News of the renewed efforts to take the project forward began to circulate and local concerns again emerged. On 21 January 2019 I received a briefing via email and responded with a number of questions, primarily about the environmental impact. My response came on 18 February which was simply a copy of some 'relevant' parts of the Q&A section of their website.
Public Opposition
Between submitting my questions and receiving the 'response', the unrest among the public was growing to such an extent that many felt their feelings needed to be brought together in public. At quite short notice, a large crowd gathered at Brown's Bay with signs and banners, photos and videos were taken, interviews offered, and then those present took a walk around Skernaghan Point towards where the bring discharge is proposed to take place.
I was there, and was able to speak to a lot of people there voicing their concern, mostly regarding environmental issues and the fact that they felt things were moving ahead without them having the opportunity to input as local residents. This video gives a good flavour of the day.
Briefing
Political representatives were invited to a "political briefing". (The cynic in me would query if this would have taken place had opposing local voices not been so prominent.) There was no time, date, or place included, other than it would be in the "area". The date was secured, but we weren't informed of the venue until a few days before.
I had indicated from the start that I would be attending anyway, because there were many questions and concerns that were not being addressed, and I assumed the team from the company would want to resolve this.
The meeting was styled as a working lunch, so we were fed - I declared this and didn't try to hide the fact. Not that it would make a difference to my viewpoint, without answers, clarification, and proper community consultation!
There was a good enough attendance. The first part of the meeting (less than half, I'd say) was about the project, and how some of the management team had their own fishing boats for many years. The other part - the majority - was in relation to the community fund. Anyone wishing to support community initiatives gets my admiration and any money for local projects is very welcome. But given local unrest about the project, this part of the meeting was unsuitable and did nothing to suppress any suggestions of 'money for support' which may have been mooted before.
Main Issues
For most people, the primary concerns with this project are not necessarily the project itself. Instead, they are:
To date these remain largely unaddressed.It just happens there is a council election looming on the 2nd May, and all sorts are coming out of the woodwork to condemn and oppose the plans. Wait - even some have done a U-turn on previous claims to please the electorate (i.e. try and earn votes!).
Because of this, I thought it was time to revive a few articles, comments, and opinions so that the people of this - my -area know exactly who is being sincere or not. (And forgive me if this goes on a bit but I think it's both necessary and worth it.)
Since this project as such first raised its head around 2011/12, I am the ONLY elected councillor to have opposed it from then until now. That was 2+ years before an election then, and 7 years before this one - so I hope you can see I have had genuine objections and not just self-gain at heart.
History
Late in 2012, the SDLP Minister responsible for environmental issues - Alex Attwood - granted approval for the project to proceed. At the time, I very strongly objected on the grounds that this was done with little to no community consultation:
‘Residents’ views have been ignored’ – Deputy Mayor Read more at: https://www.larnetimes.co.uk/news/residents-views-have-been-ignored-deputy-mayor-1-4404339
There can be no doubt as to my opposition - here is an excerpt from an email of 18 October:
Indeed, as Deputy Mayor of Larne at the time, I gave an interview to UTV Live in opposition to the proposal.
That was until mid to late last year when, with a change in personnel and structures, the gas storage project again raised its head and was progressing a bid for EU funding. As part of the restructuring, the proposed number of caverns was dropped from 8 to 7 earlier this year in order to reduce capital expenditure.
News of the renewed efforts to take the project forward began to circulate and local concerns again emerged. On 21 January 2019 I received a briefing via email and responded with a number of questions, primarily about the environmental impact. My response came on 18 February which was simply a copy of some 'relevant' parts of the Q&A section of their website.
Public Opposition
Between submitting my questions and receiving the 'response', the unrest among the public was growing to such an extent that many felt their feelings needed to be brought together in public. At quite short notice, a large crowd gathered at Brown's Bay with signs and banners, photos and videos were taken, interviews offered, and then those present took a walk around Skernaghan Point towards where the bring discharge is proposed to take place.
I was there, and was able to speak to a lot of people there voicing their concern, mostly regarding environmental issues and the fact that they felt things were moving ahead without them having the opportunity to input as local residents. This video gives a good flavour of the day.
Briefing
Political representatives were invited to a "political briefing". (The cynic in me would query if this would have taken place had opposing local voices not been so prominent.) There was no time, date, or place included, other than it would be in the "area". The date was secured, but we weren't informed of the venue until a few days before.
I had indicated from the start that I would be attending anyway, because there were many questions and concerns that were not being addressed, and I assumed the team from the company would want to resolve this.
The meeting was styled as a working lunch, so we were fed - I declared this and didn't try to hide the fact. Not that it would make a difference to my viewpoint, without answers, clarification, and proper community consultation!
There was a good enough attendance. The first part of the meeting (less than half, I'd say) was about the project, and how some of the management team had their own fishing boats for many years. The other part - the majority - was in relation to the community fund. Anyone wishing to support community initiatives gets my admiration and any money for local projects is very welcome. But given local unrest about the project, this part of the meeting was unsuitable and did nothing to suppress any suggestions of 'money for support' which may have been mooted before.
Main Issues
For most people, the primary concerns with this project are not necessarily the project itself. Instead, they are:
- significant environmental risks;
- impact on residents; &
- the failure/refusal to genuinely engage with the community.
My main focus at the briefing meeting was the environmental risk posed by the project. We were told that the previous day the company had met with local industry representatives who offered guidance (on the placing oh buoys etc.) and whose concerns had been allayed. I have tried to speak to these reps since that day and, in 2 months, have not been able to identify who they were.
Way Forward
In conjunction with my colleagues Cllr Andy Wilson and John Stewart MLA, we have been actively contacting both Infrastrata and other relevant bodies (such as the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA)). You can see the sharp response received by John here.
The second meeting took place yesterday in the form of a 'meet the experts' event. Like most people, I found out about this little more than 12 hours before the first drop-in session started. There was still a good turnout, and in fairness to the sub-contracted experts, they did their best to calmly and personally answer any questions posed to them on behalf of Infrastrata.
I will be writing to Infrastrata and their 'communications' team in order to express the concern that the community (rightly) feel left in the dark, and to highlight that communication should be a top priority from now on.
Licence & Number of Caverns
In terms of the project, the company have submitted updated information to DAERA in order to progress a marine licence, which is required before underwater work can begin. This will eventually be put to consultation, which is when objections to brine discharge and environmental impact will be considered. According to RPS, around 2 or 3 buoys will be placed to constantly monitor brine levels, and microphones to detect porpoise activity (these two points and their plans/conditions should be the focus of those particularly concerned about environment issues).
Should this licence be approved, the company's plans are to begin with 2 caverns initially, which will allow testing of systems, etc. These two caverns will apparently have enough gas for the NI market. Should they proceed with the next 5, these would be done on a rolling basis. At a rate of 18 months per cavern for extraction, with some overlap, the discharge could last for a considerable length of time - and the marine damage the company itself has admitted could take the same period or longer to fully recover.
The point about 15+ potential caverns was clarified yesterday. There are 2 companies - Islandmagee Energy, and Islandmagee Hub. The latter is a research company which will explore possible future projects, including more caverns and the option of reversing the 'snip' to allow gas to travel across the Irish Sea in both directions. That's all far in the future, so the focus is currently on the 2-7 caverns under the current marine licence application.
One of the most notable aspects I have noted about this process in the past number of years is how the community has pulled together - not just in the way residents usually come together when under threat or sharing common ground, but in a coordinated and cohesive way, with badges, yellow banners around Larne Lough, detailed preparations, and a real sense of cohesion.
The next few months will be very interesting as both the company and the community move to the next stage of the process with the marine licence application.
