Residents of Ħal Farruġ have filed a complaint to the European Commission, saying they feel “deceived” by the unkept promises of top politicians about massive aviation fuel tanks close to their homes in Luqa.
In a notarised declaration seen by Times of Malta, the residents said they were reassured several times by several prominent politicians in 2017 that they have nothing to worry about because the facility would be investing heavily in safety features.
The politicians who gave such assurances included ministers Silvio Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, mayor John Schembri, and even then prime minister Joseph Muscat who visited several homes close to the plant.
The complaint is being made to the European Commission through MEP candidate Peter Agius on behalf of the residents. In the statement, the residents say they previously lived in the vicinity of the underground fuel storage but in 2017 were informed of plans to expand the facility to include above-ground fuel storage.
Despite their concerns about this development, they say that political figures at the time assured them that precautions would be taken to ensure their safety.
Principally, residents say they were promised a boundary wall between the residential area and the fuel storage facility, cladding and landscaping to minimise the visual impact, and the construction of a solar farm, through which residents could expect to receive a €500 energy subsidy every year.
Based on this, they decided not to object to the planning permit for the tanks, they said.
But despite four years elapsing since the completion of the project, none of these promises have been kept.
They say that while EU standards hold that such facilities should maintain a perimeter of 500 metres for safety, their homes are located only 110 metres away from the plant. As a result, the residents say that they have faced issues in insuring their homes.
“When we tried to speak to the authorities and Enemed, everyone ignored us,” they continued. “We feel that this is a huge injustice that has been imposed on us and our children by deception.”
Agius said he was making the complaint because he believes the current situation is in breach of the European Seveso Directive, which says that facilities with the potential for serious incidents must be located at least 500 metres away from residential areas.
“We must ensure that EU standards are translated into rights in practice for the Maltese and not remain on paper,” Agius said. “If the government is not capable of doing this then we must take action ourselves. This is why I just submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission.”
Times of Malta has previously reported on the Luqa council distancing itself from the pledge of reimbursing residents through a yearly €500 grant as compensation for the placement of the tanks.
In 2019, mayor John Schembri sent out a mailshot to residents, in which he said that an agreement had been reached to invest €3 million in a solar farm, which would in turn subsidise the energy grant for residents.