November 4, 2009
In a stunning victory for the citizens’ campaign led in part by 2007 Prize recipient Willie Corduff and the other members of the Rossport Five, Ireland’s planning board has ordered Shell to re-route the planned Corrib gas pipeline away from the community of Rossport due to the risks the project would pose to the health and safety of those living near the high-pressure pipeline.
Disagreement among the citizens of the tiny community in northwest Ireland’s County Mayo over the potential benefits, including jobs for the rural community, and the potential risks associated Shell’s Corrib project drove a wedge between residents. The sustained nonviolent action against Shell’s project by those opposing it has resulted in clashes with local law enforcement and strife among the community. Now, with the planning board decision in place, the developers of the pipeline must come up with a new plan to route the pipeline away from Rossport, connecting the offshore natural gas wells to a refinery in nearby Bellanaboy via Sruwaddacon Bay, a protected area. The board also ordered that the new route meet international safety standards in order to go forward with implementation in the sensitive ecosystem.
Shell is ordered to re-route ‘risky’ Corrib gas pipeline [Irish Independent]
