Local campaigners shed “tears of joy”, as Belfast Live reports, after the Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled that Edwin Poots acted “irrationally” in approving unilaterally a major gas storage project under Larne Lough.

Under the banner of No Gas Caverns, the coalition of concerned locals joined with Friends of the Earth NI to take their case to the appeals court after their application for judicial review was dismissed last August.

Judgment was reserved in their legal bid in February, but on Monday (17 June) a panel of three judges upheld both points: that Edwin Poots, as then DAERA Minister, had failed to refer the application to the Northern Ireland Executive as it was “cross-cutting, controversial and significant”; and that Poots had taken into account “an irrelevant consideration” in the form of a community fund to mitigate impacts of the development.

Counsel for DEARA, however, had insisted that Poots had legal authority to act unilaterally in his decision to award the marine licence to Islandmagee Energy, a subsidiary of Infrastrata-owned Harland and Wolff, for the excavation of seven 1,350m-deep caverns with an intended storage lifespan of 40 years.

But the project has faced stiff opposition from local residents who claim, among other things, that hyper-saline discharges from the excavation process would create a marine wildlife “dead zone” in the lough.

Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan told the court: “The Ministerial decision as it stands, effectively means this gas storage proposal is not deemed a significant and controversial project.

“This is a decision which we find to be irrational for reasons… including the interface with climate commitments in Northern Ireland.”

Responding to the verdict, Lisa Dobbie from No Gas Caverns told Belfast Live: “I am absolutely amazed … It’s not every Monday you change the way environmental decision making works in Northern Ireland.”

Belfast Live has much more on the story HERE.

Judgement has been reserved in campaigners’ legal bid to overturn the decision to approve the excavation of gas storage caverns under Larne Lough.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the coalition of local campaigners — under the banner of No Gas Caverns — and Friends of the Earth NI took their case to the Court of Appeal after their application for judicial review was dismissed last August.

Among their claims, they say that hyper-saline discharges from the excavation process would create a marine wildlife “dead zone” in the lough.

They also contended that Edwin Poots — then minister at the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) — was required to seek consent from the NI Executive before green-lighting the project in November 2021.

Counsel for DEARA, however, insisted that Poots had legal authority to act unilaterally in his decision to award the marine licence to Islandmagee Energy, a subsidiary of Infrastrata-owned Harland and Wolff, for the excavation of seven 1,350m-deep caverns with an intended storage lifespan of 40 years.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Campaigners against plans to excavate caverns for gas storage under Larne Lough took to its shores last weekend to reaffirm their opposition to the proposals.

And as Belfast Live reports, the protest at Browns Bay Beach on Sunday 7 January also heralded their upcoming hearing at the Court of Appeal, following on from last August’s dismissal of their application for judicial review.

Islandmagee Energy, a subsidiary of Infrastrata-owned Harland and Wolff, won a marine licence to excavate seven 1,350m-deep caverns under the lough when Edwin Poots, then minister at the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), green-lit the project in November 2021.

The works would result in up to 24,000 cubic metres of brine being discharged into the inlet every day — a prospect that environmentalists and other campaigners say will have a significant impact on marine wildlife and habitats that they argue has not been properly assessed.

Belfast Live has much more on the story HERE.

Local campaigners are taking their challenge against proposed gas caverns under Larne Lough to the Court of Appeal, following its dismissal by the High Court in August.

As previously noted on Afloat.ie, all seven grounds of the legal challenge brought jointly by campaign groups No Gas Caverns and Friends of the Earth NI were dismissed at the High Court in Belfast.

But as Belfast Live reports, the groups are mounting an appeal of Justice Michael Humphreys’s ruling under two grounds: failure to refer the marine licence applications to the Executive Committee; and the taking into account of an irrelevant consideration, namely the fossil fuel scheme’s promise of a ‘community fund’.

The groups argue that former Environment Minister Edwin Poots acted unlawfully when he approved a marine license for plans to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas under the lough.

It’s feared that “hyper-saline” water that would be released by carving out the salt caverns beneath the lock would threaten vulnerable marine wildlife and even create a “dead zone”.

Belfast Live has more on the story HERE.

The High Court in Belfast has dismissed a legal challenge against proposed gas caverns under Larne Lough.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, judgment was reserved in early May in the "complex" and "significant" judicial review into granting a marine licence for the plans to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas under the lough.

Northern Ireland’s main conservation groups have been united against the proposals on environmental grounds, with a number of demonstrations taking place earlier this year.

According to BBC News, Justice Michael Humphreys dismissed all seven grounds of the legal challenge brought jointly by campaign groups No Gas Caverns and Friends of the Earth NI.

The latter said the ruling on Thursday (31 August) is “incredibly disappointing for our environment”.

BBC News has more on the story HERE.

Judgment has been reserved in the judicial review into the granting of a marine licence for the excavation of gas storage caverns under Larne Lough.

After four days of submissions at Belfast High Court, on Friday (5 May) Justice Michael Humphreys described the case as “complex” and “significant”, according to BelfastLive.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Northern Ireland’s main conservation groups have come out against the plan to develop the gas storage caverns underneath Larne Lough on environmental grounds.

In the most recent of a series of demonstrations, some 30 swimmers took to the waters of Larne Lough on Saturday 22 April to protests plans to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas under its bed.

Representing the campaigners, Barrister Conor Fegan warned of a damaging impact on marine wildlife in the area, noted how it would lock Northern Ireland into extended fossil fuel dependence and questioned suggestions that the caverns could be used to store hydrogen instead.

King’s Counsels representing DAERA and Islandmagee Energy, meanwhile, sought to mollify concerns over the approval process for the licence and minimise the potential for discharge in the sensitive sea life zone.

BelfastLive has much more on the story HERE.

Some 30 swimmers took to the waters of Larne Lough on Saturday (22 April) in protest over plans to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas under its bed, according to BBC News.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Northern Ireland’s main conservation groups have come out against the plan to develop the gas storage caverns underneath Larne Lough on environmental grounds.

The protest followed a similar action earlier this month called ‘Boots on the Beach’, in which 200 people marched along Brown’s Bay beach in Islandmagee in opposition to the gas caverns.

Campaigners, who have been raising funds for a judicial review due to begin early next month, fear that the “hyper-saline” water that would be released by carving out the salt caverns beneath the lock would threaten vulnerable marine wildlife and even create a “dead zone”.

It’s also feared that the project would impact key records collected by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group used to determine the status of cetaceans in Irish waters.

However, the firm behind the project — which is owned by Harland & Wolff, formerly InfraStrata — counters that it would create hundreds of jobs in the area and bring “significant economic and social benefits” to the region.

BBC News has more on the story HERE.