EIA on landfill near Mnajdra slammed by objectors

The Environmental Impact Assessment report for the proposed landfills near Mnajdra was littered with shortcomings intended solely to favour the developers, the objectors claimed yesterday.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority will be doing a disservice to the public if it does not reject the "incomplete and inaccurate EIA lock, stock and barrel", said the Siggiewi Action Group for our Environment (SAGE) during a news conference, when it tore to pieces SLR's EIA on the controversial proposal.

The Resources and Infrastructure Ministry has proposed the interim landfills in the vicinity of Siggiewi because it will take between two and three years to construct an engineered landfill which will replace Maghtab.

Given the tight self-imposed deadline to close off the Maghtab landfill by May, there was no time for the Resources Ministry to issue a call for tenders for the EIA, Engineer Marco Cremona argued.

The draft EIA that was submitted to MEPA last month lacked two key studies - the socio-economic studies and the hydrological risk assessment, according to Mr Cremona.

The engineer accused Resources Minister Ninu Zammit of setting a precedent when he argued that an EIA on such a project could be completed in just three to four months.

The environmental report fails to address a number of glaring matters listed in the terms of reference, Mr Cremona told journalists.

The proposal submitted contravened policy on several fronts, most notably: siting; the design capacity; and the fact that the site was not designed for hazardous waste.

Mr Cremona, a Friends of the Earth consultant, said it was worth pointing out that no hydrological tests and benthic surveys of the marine environment were carried out in the drawing up of the report.

In spite of this, SLR and Wasteserv went ahead with a meeting with the stakeholders who were informed that the proposed landfill would have no significant impact on ecology, soil and archaeology, among others.

The multi-seasonal studies requested by MEPA were replaced by dry season and wet season studies.

"Wasteserv started its own public consultation in an attempt to put pressure on MEPA to accept the EIA as complete when it clearly was not," Mr Cremona said.

And to make matters worse, the same officials within MEPA and the MRA, who are responsible for establishing whether the EIA is complete, are the same people responsible for the selection of the site of the interim landfills, putting their impartiality in question, he said.

Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who has been vociferously campaigning against the proposed landfills, claimed that certain parts of the EIA report were actually copied word for word from other reports.

"It's an insult to our intelligence," he charged.

Given the fact the SLR has been commissioned by the government to monitor the landfill once it starts to operate there is a clear case of conflict of interest, Dr Pullicino Orlando said.

SLR is suggesting that the gases emanating from the landfill after capping should be disposed of by flaming. But it was worth pointing out that the flaming process in itself produces acidic gases, which can very easily damage the outer surface of the megaliths, he said.

Dr Pullicino Orlando reiterated his stand of starting excavation and preparation of the Ghallis site at once and argued that preparing the first cell will take months and not years.

If SLR had bothered to consult locals involved in the rock cutting industry they would have become aware of this fact.

"The interim landfills will not only ruin yet another site on the island, but also literally involve throwing taxpayers' money out with the garbage."

It was worth noting, the PN backbencher said, that landfills in the UK, which involved SLR, were regularly being investigated due to breaching conditions.

Mariella Gatt from SAGE said she was disappointed with the passive stance adopted by the local council.

The Siggiewi council have been notably careful not to upset the authorities, rather than taking into consideration the interests of the residents, Ms Gatt said.