The European Commission has taken Malta to court over the dumping of sewage waste into the sea.
In an announcement on Wednesday, the Brussels-based EU commission said it had referred Malta to the European Court of Justice because of the island’s failure to comply with its Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
The directive requires member states to ensure that urban areas properly collect and treat their waste water before this is dumped into the sea.
The Commission said the main issue was the performance of Malta’s waste water treatment plants.
While Malta’s urban areas have a municipal collection system in place and waste water is being directed to a treatment plant, the waste exiting these plants does not meet the quality requirements of the EU’s directive.
This is particularly the case for the northern part of the island. Since waste water is being discharged into a sensitive area, the commission said, it should be subject to even more stringent treatment.
The EU's concern is mainly linked to the discharge of farm waste (animal manure) into the municipal waste water system, a long-standing problem in Malta, Brussels said.
Times of Malta has long reported about the issue of sludge from animal farms being deposited into the drainage system – substantially increasing sewage treatment costs for the Water Services Corporation and hampering its operations.
This disrupted the performance of the island’s treatment plants and the authorities have not yet found solutions.
The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Malta in December 2016, followed by a reasoned opinion in October 2017.
Despite some progress, the Maltese authorities have not fully addressed the grievances, the Commission said.
“The Commission considers that efforts by the Maltese authorities have to date been unsatisfactory and insufficient and is, therefore, referring Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union,” it said.
Malta is the only country in the EU where all urban settlements do not comply with the urban waste water treatment directive.
Furthermore, it is one out of only two countries that did not submit a report it was required to.