All noise pollution must be strictly controlled

In the face of mounting public concern about the high levels of noise pollution in Malta, the government has just published a White Paper, under the authorship of the University of Malta’s head lecturer on environmental law, entitled Neighbourhood Noise Prevention, Abatement And Control. The document analyses legislation in place on the matter and the regulatory bodies that are meant to police it.

The White Paper highlights that neighbourhood noise legislation is fragmented with various entities responsible for different aspects. This has forced individuals wishing to make a complaint about excessive noise to go from one department to another with a resultant lack of ownership of the issue as well as deep frustration for those affected.

The White Paper proposes the setting up of a Noise Control Board. This will be made up of representatives from the various authorities and an environmental NGO – the obvious choice being the Noise Abatement Society of Malta, which has fought long and hard on this issue – to be responsible for streamlining and updating the existing guidelines and regulations in line with best practice.

Not before time, a dedicated 24/7 noise pollution hotline will also be established. This will enable victims of noise pollution to file and keep track of their complaints, thus ensuring accountability of the authorities concerned and enabling complainants to keep tabs on how their case is being handled.

All this is greatly to be welcomed by a long-suffering public that has had to endure the adverse effects on their health and the environment of every kind of noisy modern contrivance. In this densely populated island, everywhere one is assailed by noise, never more so than in the summer when most of the colourful village feasts are accompanied by petards that only produce loud, annoying bangs but no spectacle.

Yet, the White Paper appears to be avoiding pronouncing on the deleterious effects of fireworks noise pollution, saying that there should be a separate discussion on village feasts and fireworks, which “although they could be a nuisance, were part of our cultural tradition”.

This is a typically supine politician’s approach to what is almost certainly the source of greatest noise and public complaint in Malta. It is the same approach that had formerly been adopted in relation to hunting and trapping until the European Union took the government by the scruff of the neck and forced it to comply with the norms applicable to all member states.

The same should apply to fireworks noise pollution. In 2009, in a scathing pronouncement following a dispute between the Marsa Sports Club and the Sta Venera Fireworks Club, the former Chief Justice, Vincent Degaetano, commented, inter alia, in a court judgement on the inconvenience caused by petards. He said that “the savage bombardment and the senseless explosions” that accompanied or preceded fireworks displays during the feasts terrified pets, children, the elderly and the sick. He had added that “this court knows of no regulations that in any form regulate what is effectively higher levels of noise pollution because of the type of petard used”.

This is the nub of the problem. It cannot be beyond the wit of legislators to deal with this. More importantly, a government that wants to show that it cares for the well-being of the vast majority of people should not be seen to be kow-towing to a special interest group, in this case fireworks enthusiasts.

Just like any other noise pollution, that engendered by petards should be brought strictly under control.