Investigations have been launched into the cause of two bogslides in Kerry and Donegal in recent days, which resulted in thousands of tonnes of bog and trees being displaced.

In Meenbog in Co Donegal, a peat slippage occurred at Meenbog wind farm, which is owned by Invis Energy. Energy which will be generated from the wind farm will be sold to Amazon.

A spokesperson for Invis Energy confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that a peat slippage occurred at the site.

“There is no risk to public health. We are working with the relevant authorities to fully address the matter. We are grateful to the local community for their continued support.”

Donegal County Council has described the incident as a “significant pollution event” affecting the Mourne Beg River and said a cross-border multi -agency meeting was held on Monday to co-ordinate the response to it.

Work suspended

“The wind farm developer has suspended all works at the site with the exception of those that relate to mitigating the impact of the bogslide and reducing the risk of further slides. The multi-agency group will reconvene on Thursday to review matters and further co-ordinate the response,” according to the council.

Donegal County Council and the Roads Service in Northern Ireland have closed the Dergline Road/Corgary Road between the N15 and Castlederg/Aghyaran (L6554 – U163) as a precaution until further notice.

We need to come up with solutions to these problems, to keep them from happening

Donegal IFA chair Brendan McLaughlin said while the cause of the bogslide hasn’t been revealed, he said: “We need to come up with solutions to these problems, to keep them from happening.”

Coillte said the bogslide occurred on its land that adjoins the wind farm and that it will continue to monitor the situation.

Irish Water said it has investigated the incident with its operations staff and “there is no immediate concern for water services in the Finn Valley. The Mourne Beg River flows away from Lough Mourne and may have more impact on the river downstream.”

Bogslide in Kerry

Marie Scanlon of Finn Valley Wind Action told the Irish Farmers Journal that the Meenbog area is not suitable for wind farms.

“We already have forest on the bog here, we predicted this would happen,” she said, adding that at the outset of the project the group engaged two experts, one on hydrology and one on peat stability.

“They recommenced that this could happen given the terrain. This should never have been approved,” she said.

On Saturday, bog and trees began to move in a bogslide in Mount Eagle, Co Kerry

Scanlon added that on Tuesday, locals in the area received a letter from an energy group saying that it was “considering the potential for turbines in your area again”.

On Saturday, bog and trees began to move in a bogslide in Mount Eagle, Co Kerry, and local action group Save Kerry, which is against monoculture conifer plantations, said it was not sure when it began.

A spokesperson for Save Kerry told the Irish Farmers Journal that the slippage is entering the River Clydagh which provides Brosna and Knocknagoshel with drinking water and that it has contacted Kerry County Council and the EPA on the matter.

Kerry County Council said it is not currently aware of any impacts on public property roadways or water supplies

“The cause of the bogslide is unknown but going by imagery Save Kerry have received, it appears to have originated inside a conifer plantation. There was also a wind farm constructed 1km from the bogslide in 2015/2016.

“These bogslides are emerging as a national issue and with the recent bogslides in Leitrim and Donegal there needs to be a full investigation by independent experts on why this is happening,” it said.

Kerry County Council said it is not currently aware of any impacts on public property roadways or water supplies but it continues to monitor the situation and liaise with any relevant authorities as the matter is investigated.

Irish Water said there has been no impact to date on customers’ treated water supplies.