REPORT PERIOD: JANUARY 01 MARCH

QUARTERLY NOISE MONITORING REPORT FOR EAST GALWAY LANDFILL REPORT PERIOD: JANUARY 01 MARCH 31 2018 IE LICENCE REF. NO. W0178-02 APRIL 2018

QUARTERLY NOISE MONITORING REPORT FOR EAST GALWAY LANDFILL REPORT PERIOD: JANUARY 01 MARCH 31 2018 IE LICENCE REF. NO. W0178-02 Rev. Nr. User is Responsible for Checking the Revision Status of This Document Description of Changes Prepared by: Checked by: Approved by: Date: 0 Draft to Client SM/CF TR TR 09-04-2018 Client: Keywords: Galway County Council Quarterly report, landfill environmental monitoring, landfill, noise monitoring Abstract: This report details the results of quarterly monitoring of noise at East Galway Landfill, Killagh More, Ballybaun (E.D Killaan), Ballintober (E.D Killaan), Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 1.1. SCOPE OF THE SURVEY... 1 2. NOISE MONITORING APPROACH... 2 2.1. DESCRIPTION OF APPROACH... 2 3. SURVEY RESULTS... 6 3.1. MEASUREMENT UNITS AND STANDARDS... 6 3.2. SURVEY FINDINGS... 6 3.3. DISCUSSION OF NOISE RESULTS... 6 3.4. TONAL COMPLIANCE... 7 4. CONCLUSION... 8 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX I: APPENDIX II: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING LOCATION MAP CALIBRATION CERTIFICATE APPENDIX III: NOISE MONITORING RESULTS P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 i/ii

LIST OF TABLES PAGE TABLE 1.1: NOISE MONITORING PARAMETERS & FREQUENCY... 1 TABLE 1.2: NOISE EMISSION LIMITS... 1 TABLE 2.1: NOISE MONITORING LOCATIONS... 3 TABLE 3.1: NOISE SURVEY RESULTS DAYTIME... 6 P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 ii/ii

Section 1 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 1. INTRODUCTION The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transferred the Industrial Emissions (IE) licence Reg. No. W0178-02 for East Galway Landfill to Galway County Council (GCC) on 28 June 2016 from Greenstar Holdings. The landfill facility is located at Killagh More, Ballybaun (E.D Killaan), Ballintober (E.D Killaan), Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. The facility is situated in east Galway, approximately 15km west of Ballinasloe town. The surrounding area is characterised by a mixture of agricultural and residential land use. The landfill is situated in an area bounded to the north by the Athenry to Ballinasloe road (R348). There are local roads L7442 and L7439 to the east and south of the site, respectively. The landfill facility accepts non-hazardous waste for disposal and recovery purposes with 7 no. cells having waste in situ. Following a 3-year closure, waste acceptance recommenced in August 2016 with Cells 8 and 9 being currently filled. GCC retained Fehily Timoney and Company (FT) to carry out environmental monitoring services at East Galway Landfill from October 2016, under the conditions and schedules of the licence. The results of the quarterly noise monitoring survey for the Q1 2018 monitoring period are presented and discussed herein. The quarterly noise monitoring event was carried out on the 20 th February 2018. Unless otherwise specified, monitoring was carried out at those locations set out in Schedule F.3 of the Licence and in Drawing East Galway Landfill Environmental Monitoring Locations in Appendix 1. 1.1. Scope of the Survey Noise monitoring was undertaken at five noise monitoring locations and the locations are shown on the monitoring location map presented in Appendix I. This survey was undertaken to measure the licence parameters detailed in Schedule D.4 of the licence and reproduced in Table 1.1. The survey also determines compliance with the noise emissions limits specified in Table D.4 of the IED licence, provided in Table 1.2. Table 1.1: PARAMETER Noise Monitoring Parameters & Frequency FREQUENCY L Aeq (30 minutes) L A10 (30 minutes) L A90 (30 minutes) Frequency Analysis (One third Octave Band Analysis) Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Table 1.2: Noise Emission Limits Day db (A) L Aeq (15 minutes) Night db (A) L Aeq (15 minutes) 55 45 P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 1 of 8

Section 2 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 2. NOISE MONITORING APPROACH 2.1. Description of Approach 2.1.1. Noise Monitoring Methodology The noise monitoring and analysis were carried out in accordance with the EPA s Guidance Note for Noise: Licence Applications, Surveys and Assessments in Relation to Scheduled Activities (NG4) (2016) and ISO 1996 Standards Acoustics - Description and Measurement of Environmental Noise, Part 1 (ISO 1996-1:2016) and Part 2 (ISO 1996-2:2007). This noise survey was carried out during the daytime hours of 12:00 and 16:30 on the 20 th February 2018. The monitoring was carried out using a Bruel & Kjaer Type 2250 Sound & Vibration Analyser with a Brüel and Kjær microphone unit Type 4189 with a Brüel and Kjær windscreen Type UA-0237. The 30-minute equivalent continuous sound level (L Aeq), the 10 percentile level (L A10) and 90 percentile level (L A90) were recorded at each monitoring location. The sound level meter was set to a frequency weighting of A in accordance with international standard IEC 61672:2003 and various national standards relating to the measurement of sound pressure level representative of human hearing and a fast response time. 1/3 octave band measurements were carried out using Z frequency weighting in accordance with ISO 1996-2:2007. The sound level meter was calibrated prior to commencing the survey using the recommended calibration procedure and a Brüel and Kjær Type 4231 calibrator. The meter was re-checked on completion of the survey to record drift during the monitoring period. Drift is normally associated with battery fade and temperature. The unit had not drifted during the survey. Calibration certificates are included in Appendix II. 2.1.2. Meteorological Conditions Best practice guidance documents recommend carrying out measurements during calm conditions to avoid spurious effects on the microphone, particularly at low frequencies. An average wind speed of less than 5 m/s is the preferred limit when noise measurements are being taken, with occasional exceedances of up 7 m/s due to gusting may be acceptable. During the noise survey, weather conditions were dry, warm and sunny with a cloud cover below 10%. Average wind speeds measured was 1.0 m/s and the average maximum wind speed averaged at 2.8 m/s. The wind direction ranged between south-westerly to west south-westerly direction. 2.1.3. Noise Monitoring Locations Monitoring was carried out at five locations surrounding the facility. These locations are summarised in Table 2.3. The monitoring locations are presented in Appendix I. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 2 of 8

Section 2 Table 2.1: Noise Monitoring Locations Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 Monitoring Location Location Description Ground conditions Surrounding Measurement Position Photographs of Monitoring Locations N1 N2 Located on Landfill Haul Road, near the site southern boundary. ITM 571171, 728640 Located at the north-eastern boundary of the site. ITM 571603, 729692 Compacted limestone on haul road, even ground. Location is in direct line of sight with landfill, trees and hedgerows bound the monitoring location to the east and south. Level ground, firm grass conditions underfoot. Trees and grass bank prevent direct line of sight with the landfill. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 3 of 8

Section 2 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 Monitoring Location Location Description Ground conditions Surrounding Measurement Position Photographs of Monitoring Locations N3 N4 Located at local residence 135 m North of the site. ITM 571461, 730216 Located at the western boundary of the site. ITM 570935, 729561 Concrete yard path, in farmyard, level ground. Trees and hedgerows to south in line of site with the facility. Level ground, in grassland area, firm underfoot. Trees and hedgerows located to east of location but there is a direct line of sight to the landfill. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 4 of 8

Section 2 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 Monitoring Location Location Description Ground conditions Surrounding Measurement Position Photographs of Monitoring Locations N5 Located at entrance to residential dwelling along the R348 regional road. The monitoring location is located approximately 100m east of the site entrance. ITM 171466, 230390 Tarmac area outside the dwelling house. Trees and hedgerows preventing direct line of sight with landfill P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 5 of 8

Section 3 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 3. SURVEY RESULTS 3.1. Measurement Units and Standards The use of the db(a) as the basic unit for general environmental and traffic noise is widely accepted and it has been demonstrated that noise levels in db(a) from a wide range of sources adequately represent loudness. Definitions of the acoustic terms used throughout this report are outlined as follows: L Amax L A90 Refers to the maximum A-weighted sound pressure level recorded over the period stated. Refers to those noise levels in the lower 90 percentiles of the sampling interval; it is the level, which is exceeded for 90% of the measurement period. It will exclude the intermittent features of traffic and is used to estimate a background level. L Aeq The average level recorded over the sampling period. The closer the L Aeq value is to either the L AF10 or L AF90 value indicates the relative impact of the intermittent sources and their contribution. The relative spread between the values determines the impact of traffic on the background. 3.2. Survey Findings Results of the noise survey are summarised in Table 3.1. Details of the noise sources audible during the monitoring periods are provided in Appendix III. Table 3.1: Location Noise Survey Results Daytime Date and Start Time L Aeq, 30 min (db) L A90, 30 min (db) L Amax, 30 min (db) N1 20/02/2017 13:40 44 28 73 N2 20/02/2017 14:25 39 33 66 N3 20/02/2017 15:17 46 29 72 N4 20/02/2017 12:58 35 28 63 N5 20/02/2017 15:52 68 29 87 Noise Emission Limit Value 55 3.3. Discussion of Noise Results The L Aeq values recorded at N1, N2, N3 and N4 were compliant with the limit value of 55 db(a). The L Aeq measurements at location N5 were above the limit value of 55 db(a). At this location, the measured L Aeq level was 68 db(a) during this period. On site noise sources included three waste trucks entering and leaving the site. No other site noise sources were audible at this location. Off-site noise sources included bird songs/calls and road traffic along the R348 Regional Road passed the noise monitor during the monitoring period. The dominate noise sources during the monitoring period was the road traffic on the R348 Regional Road and it was frequent during the monitoring period. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 6 of 8

Section 3 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 3.4. Tonal Compliance In accordance with Annex D of ISO 1996-2:2007 Acoustics - Description and measurement of environmental noise Part 2, a tone is deemed to be present if the level in one third octave band is: 15 db higher than the level in the two adjacent bands in the low frequency one third octave bands (25 Hz to 125 Hz) 8 db higher than the level in the two adjacent bands in middle frequency bands (160Hz to 400Hz) 5 db higher than the level in the two adjacent bands in high frequency bands (500 Hz to 10,000 Hz) All recorded measurements were subject to a one third octave band analysis to identify if tonal components were present. The one third octave band spectra for each monitoring location are plotted and tabulated in Appendix III. No tonal characteristics were observed at any of the monitoring locations. Therefore, the rated level is the same as the L Aeq noise level presented in Section 3.2. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 7 of 8

Section 4 Galway County Council - East Galway Landfill Noise Monitoring Q1 2018 4. CONCLUSION The L Aeq noise levels measured at N1, N2, N3 and N4 were compliant with the limit value of 55 db(a). The L Aeq noise level recorded AT N5 was above the noise emission limit of 55 db during the noise survey. The site operates during daytime hours but exceedances of L Aeq values were caused by off-site noise sources. The L Aeq value exceedance measured at monitoring location N5 was not attributable to on-site activities. If off-site noise sources were removed from the measurement, the noise emissions from on-site activity would be less than 55 db(a). The next quarterly report is due in July 2018 and will cover the monitoring period April 2018 to June 2018. P0753/Rpt011-Part 2_Noise Q1 2018 Page 8 of 8

Appendix I Environmental Monitoring Location Map

Appendix II Calibration Certificates

Appendix III Noise Monitoring Results

Table 1: Detailed Noise Results NSL Date and Start Time L Aeq, 30 min db L Am90, 30 min db L AFmax, 30 min db General Weather Conditions Onsite Weather Conditions Average Wind (m/s) Max Wind (m/s) Wind Direction Noise Sources N1 20/02/18, 13:40 44 28 73 Dry, sunny, 3 okta, calm, 8 C 1.1 2.3 WSW Onsite: Machinery working in background (distant). Offsite: Bird song frequent, vegetation blowing in the wind. Machinery working in background (distant). Traffic noise from public road. N2 N3 N4 N5 20/02/18, 14:25 20/02/18, 15:17 20/02/18, 12:58 20/02/18, 15:52 39 33 66 46 29 72 35 28 63 68 29 87 Sunny, dry, calm, 2 okta, 8 C Partly cloudy, calm, dry, 7 okta, 8 C. Sunny, dry, calm, 2 okta, 8 C 1.0 2.5 WSW 0.8 1.5 W-SW 0.7 1.9 WSW Partly cloudy, calm, dry, 4 okta, 8 C 1.1 2.8 WSW Onsite: Machinery working in background (distant). Offsite: Vegetation blowing in the wind, bird song frequent. Onsite: Site excavators, machinery (distant, background). Offsite; Bird song frequent, farm activity. Onsite: Site machinery working in background(distant). Offsite: Birdsong frequent, vegetation blowing in the wind. Onsite: Total of 3 no. waste vehicles entering/leaving the landfill. No other site noise audible at this location. Offsite: R348 traffic (Total no. of 54 vehicles passed directly in front of the noise monitor from R348 during the monitoring period), bird song / call. Offsite noise sources dominant (R348 road traffic which was not related to site) App. III Page 1 of 4

Sound Pressure Level, L Zeq (db) Sound Pressure Level, L Zeq (db) Sound Pressure Level, L Zeq (db) Sound Pressure Level, L Zeq (db) One Third Band Octave Spectra 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 N1 Frequency (Hz) Figure 1.1: N1 Spectrum Figure 1.2: N2 Spectrum 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 N3 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 N2 Frequency (Hz) N4 Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Figure 1.3: N3 Spectrum Figure 1.4: N4 Spectrum App. III Page 2 of 4

Sound Pressure Level, L Zeq (db) N5 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 Figure 1.5: N5 Spectrum Frequency (Hz) App. III Page 3 of 4

Location LZeq 20Hz LZeq 25Hz LZeq 31.5Hz LZeq 40Hz LZeq 50Hz LZeq 63Hz LAeq 80Hz LZeq 100Hz LZeq 125Hz LZeq 160Hz LZeq 200Hz LZeq 250Hz LZeq 315Hz LZeq 400Hz LZeq 500Hz LZeq 630Hz LZeq 800Hz LZeq 1kHz LZeq 1.25kHz LZeq 1.6kHz LZeq 2kHz LZeq 2.5kHz LZeq 3.15kHz LZeq 4kHz LZeq 5kHz LZeq 6.3kHz LZeq 8kHz LZeq 10kHz LZeq 12.5kHz LZeq 16kHz LZeq 20kHz Table 2: One Third Octave Band Frequency Results Sound Pressure Level at Frequency, db N1 51 49 49 50 52 51 46 45 38 34 33 33 32 31 31 33 34 35 36 35 33 29 27 24 22 21 15 10 8 7 8 N2 55 55 51 51 51 47 41 43 35 32 28 28 25 26 28 28 28 28 26 24 23 25 29 31 30 26 21 14 10 8 8 N3 48 49 46 55 52 46 49 44 38 37 37 38 38 36 35 34 36 36 34 35 33 32 36 36 30 26 26 16 12 9 8 N4 54 54 51 48 49 46 42 35 29 26 24 23 23 24 25 25 24 25 27 23 22 21 21 20 17 16 16 10 8 7 8 N5 58 59 54 57 59 59 57 56 61 54 56 56 55 56 57 59 61 62 60 57 53 49 47 43 40 37 33 30 25 18 12 App. III Page 4 of 4