December 22nd 2008: Fehily, Timoney and Co. cleared of any wrongdoing by Kerry County Council in SEA it undertook of draft County Development Plan 2009-2015

August 28^th 2008: The Kilcolgan Residents Association lodged a detailed objection to the Draft Kerry County Development plan 2009-2015 for its attempts to rubber-stamp the LNG terminal siting decision without any public consultation on the matter.

The KRA rejected the conclusions of the SEA undertaken by Fehily Timoney and Co, such as how an LNG terminal with LNG tanks around 20 stories high, representing one of the tallest structures in Ireland and wider than the width of Croke Park in an SAC, NHA and SPA area:

“will permanently positively impact on”:

“improving people’s quality of life based on high quality living environments, working and recreational facilities”,

“adhering to the County Emergency plan and other objectives relevant to human health”, even though no emergency plan is in place

having “a neutral effect on the protection of scenic landscapes, views, routes and landscape features of local value”

In addition, The KRA had serious concerns that there was a conflict of interest in the SEA undertaken by Fehily, Timoney and Company on the draft county development plan due to the company’s links with the transportation, construction and energy sectors in general and with Hess Corporation in particular.

The council proposed the following wording in the county development plan which was duly passed with a sneak industrial zoning given to all lands from the proposed LNG Terminal site to Tarbert Village which had not been included in the draft development plan submitted initially to the general public for observations and approval.

“Ballylongford Land Bank

The Shannon Estuary constitutes one of the premier deepwater locations throughout the Country. This makes it an area of significant potential for future development and an asset for the County whose potential must be maximised. A large area of land comprising 188.8 ha are currently zoned for industrial development. Planning permission for a gas importation terminal has recently been granted on a portion of this land. This gas terminal constitutes a strategic national asset for the importation, storage and distribution of liquefied natural gas to the national gas grid. Its development will add significantly to the development potential of the area. One of the major attractions for the developer in choosing this location was the deepwater available. While other deepwater is available to the West of the LNG site, this would require longer jetty facilities. More accessible deepwater is available to the East of the LNG site. Aside from the deepwater asset it is hoped that the presence of the LNG plant, the availability of natural gas, the proximity to the national grid and the potential for refrigeration from the regasification process, combined with the additional physical infrastructure in terms of roads and water will make this a very attractive location for other industries to locate in the future. The development of this land which can accommodate a significant number of enterprises would on development, provide employment opportunities for north Kerry. It is the intention therefore, of Kerry County Council to zone additional lands in this area for industrial development. “