European Communities (Quality of Shellfish Waters) Regulations 2006

S.I. No. 268 of 2006

Water Quality Improvement PlanRegulation 6 Action Programme

Inner Bay, Maharees, Co. Kerry.

Date Designated: 1994 under the Quality of Shellfish Waters Regulations (S.I. No. 200 of 1994, as amended by S.I No. 459 of 2001). These Regulations have now been replaced by the European Communities (Quality of Shellfish Waters) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 268 of 2006).

Boundaries: All points south west of an imaginary line from Rough Point, (062 660E 120 150N), to 065 210E 120 150N, to 062 500E 114 240N to the High Water Mark as delineated on attached map Map also shows discharge points, and location of native oyster bed within Oyster Order area. The area shown on the attached map corresponds to the area shown on the Map of Record associated with S.I. No. 268 of 2006.

Sampling and Analysis: Sampling point is within 50 m radius of 062 700E, 115 350N (Lat. 52 16 23 N, 10 00 43.9 W).

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has been tasked by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (CMNR) with undertaking the sampling and monitoring regime required under the Directive and the Regulations. This is carried out in conjunction with the Marine Institute (MI).

Responsibilities of Public Authorities:

The Minister for CMNR is primarily responsible for ensuring implementation of the terms of the Directive and the implementing Regulations. For this purpose the Shellfish Waters Management Committee (SWMC) has been established by the Minister for CMNR (see section on “Review of Programme” below).

Regulation 4 of S.I. No. 268 of 2006, inter alia, places an obligation on every public authority that has functions, the performance of which may effect shellfish waters, to perform its functions in a manner that promotes compliance with the Directive and the Regulations, and to take such actions that will secure compliance with the Directive and the Regulations and with this action programme. The “prescribed public authorities” are those listed in Schedule 1 to S.I. No. 268 of 2006 and are consulted by the Minister for CMNR in establishing and reviewing this action programme, and in investigating any instances where the designated waters fail to comply with mandatory standards. Some of the “prescribed public authorities” are also represented on the SWMC.

Description of Area: The designated area of Inner Bay, Maharees, Co. Kerry covering an area of approx. 866 hectares, lies completely within the area of the Oyster Order held by Tralee Bay Oyster Fishery Co-operative Society Ltd. (TOFS) and is situated on the eastern side of the Maharees Peninsula in Tralee Bay. The water catchment of the area comprises only of Lough Gill which flows into Tralee Bay via The Trench River. The area is noted for its beaches, water sports and golf course and there is a relatively large tourist trade during the summer months. There is very good exchange of water in the area from the open Atlantic Ocean.

Population: The Electoral District adjacent to the designated area of Maharees covers an area of 2,527 hectares and is home to 870 people. 186 of these live in the village of Castlegregory (located 25.6Km. from Tralee on the Dingle Peninsula).

Sewage Collection Systems:

The population of Castlegregory (approximately 186), the only centre of population within the catchment is served by a waste water treatment system.

Septic Tanks: The land adjacent to the designated area of Inner Bay, Maharees is a sand spit, the ideal medium for percolation and neutralisation of runoff from septic tanks. The population using septic tanks in the area is approximately 684. This is a population density of 0.27 per hectare.

Development: Planning permission is being sought for a golf course on the peninsula. There are no industrial development pressures on the area, and no significant housing pressures.

To have planning permission granted for one-off housing, it is necessary to show that the soil conditions on the site are suitable for the purpose. There must be adequate percolation to make the use of a septic tank efficient, and these tanks must be sited an adequate distance from water courses to minimise the risk of contamination of water bodies.

Agriculture: The Maharees Peninsula has small scale agriculture (9,348 sheep and 1,800 cattle). The land is low lying with good drainage and it is not prone to agricultural runoff.

Sheep numbers in the South west region have been reduced by 16% between 1995 and 2004, reducing their potential impact on water quality. Cattle numbers have dropped by 2% in the same interval. With the advent of decoupling of headage payments this number is expected to fall further in the immediate future.

More generally, S.I. No. 788 of 2005 (European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2005) will significantly enhance measures for the protection of waters from potential pollution from agriculture.

Shellfish Activity: At the time of designation the designated area was being used by Bord Iascaigh Mhara for a native oyster development project to revitalise the inner bay. This project was taken over by TOFS (Tralee Oyster Fisheries Society) in 1996/97 and relocated to inner Tralee Bay. At present part of a small native oyster bed is within the designated area. Landings form this bed average at approximately 5 tonnes per annum. TOFS plans to relay a small number of scallop seed in the area for a trial. There is a small land based abalone farm at the tip of the peninsula just outside the designated area.

Classification: The wider area of Tralee Bay is classified ‘B’ (oysters) in accordance with the European Communities (Live Bivalve Molluscs) (Health Conditions for Production and Placing on the Market) Regulations, 1996 (S.I. No. 147 of 1996).

Summary of Total Discharges (all types) in relevant catchment area relating to Designated Shellfish Area.

Discharge Type / No. Discharging directly into area / No. Discharging in a 5 Km radius / No. Discharging in a 5-10 Km radius / No. Discharging in a 10-20 Km radius

Sewage

/ Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
IPPC / Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
Section 4 / 1 / Nil / Nil / Nil
Section 16 / Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
Treatment plant / Nil / 2 / Nil / Nil
CSO / Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
Drainage / Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
Other / Nil / Nil / Nil / Nil
Assessment of Compliance

Results from sampling over the past 12 months shows that the area is in compliance for parameters 1-9. Organohalogen levels have been below the limit of detection

100% of samples taken in the past twelve months recorded levels of faecal coliforms of less than 300 fcs per 100ml of flesh. The designated waters are therefore compliant.

Risks /Actions regarding Discharges

Type: Waste Water Treatment Plant

Discharge Ref. / Level of treatment / Pop. Equ.
/Volume / Responsible Authority /
Risks/Actions and Timescale
Castlegregory / Septic Tank subject to secondary treatment / 582 / Kerry County Council / Issue: Lack of monitoring.
Action : BIM to liaise with Kerry Co Co re monitoring data. Independently of the WSIP Kerry Co Council has included Castlegregory in the Preliminary Report to be carried out as part of the Kerry Villages Scheme. The caravan park will be part of the study area. Kerry Co Co will revert to DEHLG on needs assessment.

Discharges assessed as not having an impact on water quality in designated area

Discharge ref. / Type / Reason for Discounting
Abalone Farm / Section 4 / Low impact of seawater discharge
Castlegregory / WWTP / Small size and good treatment and distance from Designated Area.
Castlegregory Caravan Park / WWTP / Percolation area is ideal for neutralising outflow from WWTP

Other Actions:

● Continued monitoring of water quality within the designated area.

·  Continued liaising between all relevant agencies to ensure that information is up to date, accurate and available to all interested parties.

Review of Programme

This action programme will be managed by the SWMC consisting of representatives of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, BIM, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the M.I. Other public authorities, as relevant to the particular geographical area encompassed by the programme, may also be represented.

This programme will be reviewed every six months. Comments, suggestions etc. can be relayed to the Coastal Zone Management Division, Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources, Leeson Lane, Dublin 2, tel: 6782000, fax: 6782159, or e-mail .

Key:

IPPC – Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licence issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992.

Section 4 – a licence issued by the relevant local authority under Section 4 of the Local Government (Water Pollution Act), 1977 for the discharge of trade effluent or sewage effluent to waters.

Section 16 - a licence issued by the relevant local authority under Section 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution Act), 1977 for the discharge of any trade effluent or other matter (other than domestic sewage or storm water) to a sewer.

CSO – Combined Storm Overflow.

WSIP – Water Services Investment Programme.

DEHLG – Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

DCMNR – Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

26 May 2006