Thursday, 30th October 2008 - 19:15CET

MEPA demands compensation from batching plant for environmental damage

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) has served Sammut Concrete Supplies Ltd. with a judicial letter holding it responsible for environmental damage caused from the seepage of cement residue from one of its batching plants in Wied Santa Katarina.

The Authority said it has given the owners of the batching plant five days to pay financial compensation for the environmental damage caused and submit to the Authority a method statement of how they intend to remove cement residue and rehabilitate the valley.

As a precautionary measure against any future spillage, the Authority is obliging the owners of the batching plant to build another silt trap immediately before the cement residue is discharged, installing new machinery that recycles cement residue and instruct his employees to cleanse cement accumulation and other associated by-products by a bobcat on a daily basis.

Last year the Authority had carried out a large scale exercise to rid the valley of dried concrete wash and once again allow the biodiversity within this valley to flourish.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Saturday, November 21, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

E. Azzopardi (on 31/10/08)

Well done. And there are many more of these cowboys around. The vast majority of the citizens of this country demand that everybody, but everybody obeys the law,. Nobody, but nobody is above it. But this must be ongoing and not a one off just to get some PR. The citizens are not fools.

Maria Pace (on 30/10/08)

It is good to read about Mepa enforcing the law. Now we should also hear about ugly farms which have sprung out of nowhere,were served with an enforcement notice to no avail. These kind of farms are endangering what is left of our animal husbandry, rearing cattle and pigs and other animals together ,besides endangering the watertable with what comes down from the so called "farms " after a downpour. If Mepa is to be respected Mepa must show its teeth with such cowboys who utterly disrespect the laws and blatantly break them.
Carmen

l Galea (on 30/10/08)

They should also be billed for last year's cleanup.
If a person throws a cigarette butt in the street he is heavily fined and rightly so, so why are these concrete suppliers being let off so lightly including for last year's cleanup?

J Borg (on 30/10/08)

It seems that MEPA lately has found its teeth...or rather that of doing its job as expected by any tom dick and harry on this land.

Great! Keep it up and show one and all that you mean business.