Waterford City Council’s Role:
Extension of Smoky Coal Ban Areas
Enforcement of the Regulations in
Waterford will be undertaken by
Waterford
City
Council’s
Environmental Enforcement Staff.
Any person or body found to be in
breach of the regulations may be
issued with fixed-payment notices of
up to €1,000 or face enforcement
action under the Air Pollution Act
1987.
The Smoky Coal Ban has been
extended to cover parts of Waterford
City, including some townlands in
Co. Waterford.
Please note that the ‘smoky coal
ban’ continues to apply in certain
designated cities and towns (Dublin
City and County, Cork City, Arklow,
Drogheda, Dundalk, Limerick City,
Wexford Town, Celbridge, Galway
City, Leixlip, Naas, Waterford City,
Bray, Kilkenny, Sligo, Tralee,
Athlone, Carlow, Clonmel and Ennis)
and it is not permissible to sell or
distribute smoky coal within such
areas under any circumstances.
For further information in
relation to this please contact
the Environment Services on 051
849563 or visit:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Environme
nt/Atmosphere/AirQuality/SmokyCoa
lBan/
New ‘smoky coal’
regulations
It is now illegal to burn, sell,
distribute or market any ‘smoky’
coal within these ban areas:
Waterford City
The electoral areas of:
 Ballynakill
 Killoteran
 Kilbarry
The townlands of:
 Ballygunnertemple
 Knockeen
Information for suppliers,
wholesalers and retailers
What
do
mean?
these
regulations
What does this mean for Bagging
Operators & Suppliers?
What does this mean for General
Retailers?
The ban on the marketing, sale
and distribution of bituminous coal
(‘smoky’ coal) first came into
effect in Dublin in 1990 with great
results in reducing smoke and
sulphur dioxide levels in the
atmosphere and as a result
increased benefits to human
health. Since then the ban has
been put in place in twenty cities
and towns all over Ireland.
The Regulations requires all coal
bagging
operators/
distributors/wholesalers and certain
retailers in the residential solid fuel
supply business to register with the
EPA. Those who must register
include all bagging operators, fuel
wholesalers of bituminous coal and
those retailers whose sole or main
business involves the sale of
bituminous coal (i.e. those with
more than 50% of turnover from
coal). Please note this requirement
does not apply to the majority of
general retailers for whom the sale
of bituminous coal is not their main
business activity.
Although many general retailers will
not need to register with the EPA,
there are still certain obligations
which must be adhered to. All
retailers selling smoky coal must:
Only
smokeless
coal
is
permitted
to
be
sold,
distributed,
marketed
and
burned in these areas.
These
‘smoky
coal
ban’
regulations
were
further
strengthened in 2011 and 2012
to provide for expansions of the
ban areas to most cities and
towns already covered by the
smoky coal ban and the inclusion
of other larger towns and urban
centres as new ban areas. The
smoky coal ban has been in
existence in Waterford City since
2000 and was extended into parts
of Waterford County and Kilkenny
County in August 2012.
(see
reverse for these additional areas
in Co Waterford which now fall
within the Smoky Coal Ban
Areas.)
Following registration with the EPA,
the
suppliers/baggers/wholesalers
are encouraged to use the SWiFT 7
logo below on the product as a
demonstration of compliance.
1. Ensure that their coal is
sourced
from
wholesalers/baggers that are
registered
with
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency (EPA).
2. Ensure that coal is
sold/supplied only in sealed
bags of 10kg or more.
3. Hold records to demonstrate
that their product complies
with the new sulphur standard
(less than 0.7 %).
A List of all those baggers /
wholesalers/distributors who are
registered can be viewed on the EPA
website:
http://www.epa.ie/whatwedo/licensing/coal
baggingregistrations/
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does the law state that only
smokeless fuel can be burned,
marketed, sold or distributed
within the ban area?
Yes, bags of smokeless fuel can
be sold within the ban area,
bags must be sealed and
have a notice printed on the
bag “Smokeless Fuel, Contents
comply with Air Pollution Act
Regulations”.
2. Can a retailer sell bituminous
coal to customers from outside
the ban area?
The point of sale must not be
inside the ban area. The
transaction must take place
outside the ban area and
delivered outside the ban area
or the transaction can be done
by credit / debit card online or
by phone and delivered outside
the ban area.
3. Can a coal company from
outside the ban area advertise
smoky coal for sale within the
area?
No, advertising within the
banned area will have to specify
smokeless fuel only.
4. Can a retailer store nonsmokeless fuel within the
restricted area?
Yes - non-smokeless fuel
intended
for
distribution
outside the restricted area, can
be stored at a depot within the
area. However, a register of all
non-smokeless fuel stored and
its movements in and out of the
depot must be kept. The
regulations give details of this
register, which will be subject to
inspection by Waterford City
Council’s Enforcement Staff.
5. Can a retailer deliver non –
smokeless fuel to customers
living outside the restricted
area?
You can only transport nonsmokeless fuel from within the
restricted area to outside
the area provided:
• at least one metric tonne
is being transported at
any one time, and
• the vehicle is not being
used at the same time
within the restricted area
for
the
sale
or
distribution of any other
fuels, and
• the owner of the vehicle
carries on the vehicle a
statement
of
the
quantity of fuel and the
•
6.
name and address of the
supplier of that fuel, and
a statement of the
destination of the fuel
and the name and
address of the person(s)
purchasing the fuel.
“I am complying with the
regulations but I know others
that are not, what is Waterford
City Council going to do about
those not complying”?
Waterford
City
Council’s
Environment
Section
is
responsible for enforcing these
regulations
and
routinely
carryout out spot checks on: all
fuel suppliers (wholesale and
retail), all coal lorries, coalmen
etc., all solid fuel retailers,
including shops, petrol station
forecourts etc.
7. What if a member of the public
buys smoky coal outside the
ban area and burns it inside the
ban area?
There is a ban on the burning of
smoky coal inside the restricted
area to compliment the ban on
the
sale,
marketing
or
distribution of smoky coal in
the restricted area.