A sit-in has continued at the site of an oil drilling project near Carrickfergus as court action to eject protesters was put on hold until today.
The Stop the Drill group is opposed to a borehole to search for oil and gas in Woodburn Forest, saying it is part of the catchment for a reservoir supplying water to thousands of homes.
Campaigners claim chemicals used in the drill process could leach into the water table.
But Northern Ireland Water, which has leased the site to exploration company InfraStrata, insists the project will not compromise the water supply.
Groundwater will also be protected by measures including the drill shaft being encased in steel and concrete, according to the firm.
Earlier this week a majority on Mid and East Antrim Council approved a waste management plan - effectively paving the way for four months of work on the site to begin.
It emerged yesterday that the Department of the Environment did not respond to a request to give its views on the project in August 2013, meaning that 'permitted development (PD) rights' were granted to InfraStrata by default.
Although the company's proposal - a process which is not open to public consultation - required the DoE to respond within 21 days, and to carry out a 'screening determination' within 28 days, a departmental briefing paper states that officials did not respond.
In a Freedom of Information response seen by The Irish News, the DoE states: "Both of the above time frames elapsed and the department did not complete its Environmental Impact Assessment determination or advise the applicants of PD rights until the 19th December 2013, at which point PD rights had been granted by default".
In a letter from environment minister Mark H Durkan to a campaigner in June 2015, he dismissed a request to review the case and added: "This development is now a matter for Mid and East Antrim Council."
Fiona Joyce from Stop the Drill said yesterday: "It is really shocking that this has occurred as part of a process that we are not allowed to participate in.
"We really need to have a better system in place for PD rights and oil and gas exploration licences being granted."
A spokeswoman for the DoE said it carried out a screening under Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations in December 2013, when it "had received sufficient information from InfraStrata and statutory consultees".
"The department wrote to InfraStrata on 19th December 2013 indicating that the proposed borehole was permitted development."
