Environment enforcement

Reference is made to the item Concern About Environment Law Enforcement (October 3) whereby a number of NGOs raised their concern that the environment enforcement unit within Mepa has been disbanded. This is totally untrue – environment enforcement is still being carried out on a daily basis. The authority, on a number of occasions, outlined that the functions which had previously been carried out by a single inspectorate are now integrated into the various units of the Environment Protection Directorate (EPD). This is far from qualifying for the word “disbanded” which was used by the NGOs.

Last year, the EPD underwent restructuring to meet and address the growing challenges and current needs. The outdated structure of the Resource Management Unit (RMU), Nature Protection Unit (NPU) and Pollution Prevention and Control Unit (PPCU) was replaced by six units that responded to changed obligations in the national and environmental sectors. Staff pertaining to the inspectorate team within the PPCU were re-assigned to the various units to carry out their duties in a more efficient and effective manner.

A fundamental aspect of the restructuring was to strengthen the link between environmental permitting and enforcement. In the past, inspectors were not actively involved in the writing of permits, resulting in unenforceable conditions or permits which did not address the real environmental risks on the ground. This separation also went against all established EU best practices in environmental permitting, which stresses a risk-based approach and a shift away from classical reactive enforcement in favour of environmental auditing and pro-active measures, particularly for industrial installations, which pose the greatest risk to the environment.

Industrial activities were brought within the portfolio of a single unit (environmental permitting and industry) with the aim of creating a single focal point and one-stop-shop for industry. As part of this process, industrial permits are now completely drafted, consulted and audited by the environmental permitting and industry unit. The environmental enforcement function is also an important and fundamental part of the work carried out by this unit.

Besides the restructuring, the authority, through an EU-funded project, also invested €280,000 in capacity building in enforcement. The aim of this project was threefold: it provided a review of the institutional framework across the environmental sector; it made recommendations for improvement of coordination between the various organisations involved in environmental enforcement; and it provided an extensive training programme for approximately 250 trainees, including Mepa enforcement personnel, officers from the police administrative law enforcement unit, wardens, representatives of environmental NGOs, officials from the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, Malta Maritime Authority, health department, customs department and the Local Councils’ Association.

While it is reality that the EPD needs to further invest in human resources for it to keep addressing and meeting the challenges ahead, the Mepa reform document presented by the government boldly speaks and tackles these issues under the pillars of efficiency and enforcement. The government is committed to strengthen and invest in the authority’s environmental arm, while creating a new enforcement directorate within Mepa. This will allow EPD to focus on more specialised environmental auditing of higher risk installations. On its part, the enforcement directorate will focus more on investigative enforcement and a more timely and effective response to public complaints.