Auditor report on Delimara power station (3)

Contrary to what was implied by the article Delimara Power Station Extension - No Waste Disposal Contract (April 23) there is no need for such a contract to be in place at the stage of the outline development permit application.

Moreover, the article was misleading when it claimed that "the volume of waste collected would have to be shipped out at a rate of 15 containers a day, according to the EIA". The EIA clearly states that there will be a maximum of 15 containers moved in and out per week, and not per day.

Enemalta Corporation categorically denies that at any time did the chief technical officer attempt to mislead or provide misinformation to the Mepa board during the meeting held in public on January 28. Addressing the board, he stated, correctly, that Enemalta has a contract to export waste from the existing plants at Delimara and Marsa. This statement was made in response to several comments from members of the public present at the meeting that it was illegal or impossible to export such waste, and was given as an example to illustrate the fact that not only was it not illegal or impossible, but that there were a number of offers and different sites available for the disposal from the existing plant, and that consequently, Enemalta will not have any difficulties in disposing of the waste from the new plant.

The CTO stated that regarding the question of solid waste exportation the board should be informed that Enemalta had a contract with a company for the exportation of bottom ash from Delimara and Marsa and of fly ash from Marsa. He further stated that this waste is very similar to the waste generated from the plant with regard to quality and composition, the difference being that there are no by-products of sodium bicarbonate when it reacts with SO2.

Even though the CTO did not explicitly state that he was referring to the existing plant at Delimara, the fact that he makes a comparison of composition of the waste clearly indicates that he was referring to waste disposal from the existing Delimara and Marsa plant and not the new plant at Delimara.

During the meeting with National Audit Office officials, the CTO confirmed categorically that he had been referring to the disposal of such waste from the existing plant at Delimara and Marsa and that he had at no time claimed that Enemalta had contracts in hand for the disposal of waste from the new plant to be constructed at Delimara.