It follows a new EPA report released on peat milling this morning.
The EPA should be supporting county councils instead of threatening to bring them to court.
That's what Offaly's newly installed Cathaoirleach John Leahy is saying after the State agency branded the actions of local authorities in relation to illegal large scale peat extraction as 'patently inadequate'.
A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency says catastrophic damage is being done natural environments across the midlands due to intensive, industrial scale peat milling.
300,000 tonnes of peat is being exported to a value of around €40m every year.
Independent rep John Leahy says it would be better if the EPA supported county councils instead of persecuting them:
The EPA believes county councils have all the tools they need to enforce environmental laws around illegal peat extraction.
Director of the EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, says the ball is in the council's court:
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