EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has ruled that the government has every right to locate an incinerator next to the Delimara power station, as long as it follows environmental rules such as commissioning a strategic and environmental impact assessment.

The Commission investigated the matter following a request by Labour MEP Louis Grech and found there was no illegality in the government's plans.

The controversy revolves around a proposal made earlier this year to construct a €108 million incineration facility for solid waste, which could not be composted, next to the Delimara plant. The plan forms part of a new waste management strategy unveiled by the government earlier this year aimed at reducing Malta's dependency on land filling.

The Labour Party objected to this proposal, particularly on the location identified by experts. It argued Marsaxlokk and the south of Malta were already overburdened with industrial pollution.

Taking the issue to the European Parliament, Mr Grech asked the Commission to give its opinion on the proposal.

In a parliamentary question, Mr Grech argued that the environmental studies carried out were just a rubber stamp and that citizens' well-being, particularly those living in the area, was not given the priority it deserved.

Following investigations, Brussels disagreed with Mr Grech and said that from information it had received, "the Commission cannot identify any breach of EU environmental legislation" and everything was being done according to the existing rules.

Labour environment spokesman Leo Brincat charged this week that the government had yet to introduce effective measures to generate energy without causing carbon dioxide.

He said the government continued to bury its head in the sand and opted for a power station that depended more on oil. He expressed concern that the government did not celebrate Global Wind Day, which was marked worldwide on Monday.

Mr Dimas said the responsibility for implementing EC law correctly lay primarily with the country and the Commission had no power to substitute member states' authorities in their planning activities, or in their decisions.

"The Commission would like to underline that the Environment Impact Assessment Directive does not prohibit the authorisation of a project, even if it has negative effects on the environment," he said.

Under the directive, member states are required to respect a series of procedural obligations during the project's EIA. The directive does not lay down any substantial prescription and does not establish any obligatory environmental standards; thus, the competent national authorities are not obliged to draw specific results from the findings of the EIA.

At the same time the Commission confirmed the government had already performed a strategic environmental assessment on the proposal, according to the rules, and will be commissioning an EIA.

Mr Dimas said on this basis the Commission could not identify a breach of EC environmental rules.

Contacted by The Times, a Resources Ministry spokesman said the Marsaxlokk incinerator was still a proposal and a final decision would be taken once the eight-week consultation period on the new waste management strategy was closed.

"Following a final decision, the proposal will go through all the planning process, including a full application and decision by the planning authority," the spokesman said.

According to the government, the new incineration facility will only be used for solid waste which cannot be composted or recycled. Through its use, the engineered landfill in Għallis will also prolong its lifespan by 10 years, until 2023, without the need to build a new one.