Monitoring equipment installed at the Kordin Grain Terminal showed that contamination levels were extremely limited, Mepa official Michael Sant told the House Environment and Planning Development Committee yesterday.
He said they reached levels of best available techniques under international regulations on storage of food products.
The chief executive at Mepa, Johan Buttigieg, presented the committee with two monitoring reports for last December and January.
The safety levels, he said, were better than initially thought by Mepa.
He also presented a letter issued by former Mepa CEO Ian Stafrace in 2012.
It declared that the cement silo in Kordin belonging to UC Cement Limited (sited close to the grain terminal) did not need any development permit to operate.
Dr Stafrace’s letter referred to a legal notice which was supposed to clear the issue but which was never enacted.
Mr Buttigieg said Mepa was still insisting that the Kordin grain terminal should obtain an environmental permit. The cement silo had applied and was given such a permit.
In reply to a question from a member of the public, Mr Buttigieg said that the legal definition of development did not apply to a cement silo, adding that it did not need to apply for a development permit except for ancillary structures.
He admitted, however, that this did not necessarily exclude it from having such a permit.
Mr Sant said there were no guidelines on distance limits for such different activities. The guidelines established under the international regulations were therefore applied.
In reply to a question by Astrid Vella from the Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar NGO, Mr Sant said that regular monitoring of emissions affecting the Kordin grain terminal were to be continued.
Committee chairwoman Marlene Farrugia said UC Cement Limited would receive a formal request to give a presentation on their operations.
During the discussion, Mr Sant also referred to the shipyard activities of Palumbo Limited which affected the environment of the Three Cities.
He said that before issuing an environmental permit to Palumbo, Mepa was considering final details, including noise emissions. Mepa had asked the yard to make some changes.