The planning authority failed to take effective action against Enemalta for breaching provisions dealing with the disposal of hazardous Mercaptan, according to the authority’s auditor.

In his last report before he was replaced, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s auditor, Joe Falzon, said Mepa was obliged to take action against Enemalta over its failure to dispose of the hazardous material safely. He said the authority should adopt zero tolerance in these cases and slammed it over something which only became public “by chance”.

From now on, he said, Mepa should advise its officers that any indication of possible environmental damage should be followed up and a reported case should only be closed when the matter had been settled in accordance with official policies and good practice.

These are the conclusions of an investigation requested by Alternattiva Demokratika’s Carmel Cacopardo. The party published the report yesterday.

AD general secretary Ralph Cassar said the party believed Mepa could have avoided the incident as it was aware that Enemalta was anxious to get rid of the Mercaptan in its possession.

In his report, Mr Falzon said Mepa should not hesitate to prosecute offenders, “even if these are government bodies”. Mr Falzon said Enemalta was primarily and directly responsible for the situation. It had stored, handled and transported a hazardous substance contrary to established procedures as required by law. He added that Mepa could not be absolved of any blame.

“It was only a chance investigation by a journalist two years later that finally exposed what had happened. And this is the most serious concern in all this sequence of events – a blatant attempt to hide from the public that an event with negative environmental, and possibly, health consequences had taken place,” he said.