Two water-pumping stations close to the oil-tarnished Mosta valley were switched off by the Water Services Corporation yesterday as a precautionary measure.
Such spills are of serious and grave concern
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Mario de Marco said such oil spills were of “serious and grave concern” and he expected those responsible to be held fully accountable.
A 400-metre stretch of the scenic valley near the chapel of St Catherine was drenched in black oil after a leak from an old 45-gallon drum at the Ballut Blocks quarry yard, which the police initially asserted was “accidental”.
However, Dr de Marco said the police were still investigating whether the oil spill was “accidental or intentional”.
The WSC yesterday told The Times its Wied Speranza and Wied Għasel stations, which pump water from the aquifers below the valley, were switched off at about 7 a.m., about 40 hours after the oil was first reported to the police by a concerned citizen.
The WSC will now take samples of water from the stations and their reservoirs to test them for contaminants (hydrocarbons), keeping the authorities informed of the results.
This was the same procedure used last summer when someone poured oil down the Fiddien borehole.
“The incident should not disrupt the WSC operations. However, the corporation reserves the right for redress if the need arises, unlikely as this may be,” a WSC spokesman said while stressing that groundwater was the responsibility of the Malta Resources Authority.
The Environmental Health Directorate is also looking into the matter with the WSC and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Mepa, which said the yard operator was cooperating with the authorities and covering the costs of the entire clean-up operation, is still considering what appropriate action to take against Ballut Blocks. The legal action could depend on the extent of the damage, which is still being analysed.
The Environment Ministry said it had appointed an independent conservation specialist to help follow developments.
Most of the oil was removed over two days by Mepa-contracted pollution response company Alpha Briggs, whose director has described the “fuss” over the incident as “much ado about nothing”. Mepa yesterday “disassociated” itself from this comment but said it was satisfied with the way the clean-up operation was carried out.
The authority pointed out that it had coordinated the clean-up and issued clear guidelines to Alpha Briggs but also carried out site inspections at regular intervals to make sure things were done properly.
A Mepa spokesman also confirmed that it was notified about the accident not by Ballut Blocks but by the police, which had received a complaint from a member of the public. Biodiversity expert Alfred Baldacchino and hydrologist Marco Cremona have warned about possible long-term impacts of the spill, both in terms of loss of biodiversity and the fear of contaminated water seeping into groundwater supplies.
The valley lies over the mean sea level aquifer, whose water is pumped up for public supply by the WSC from a station adjacent to the valley.
The story also caught the attention of NGO Heritage Patrimonju Mosti, which said the valley was a world protected site, parts of which had been turned into an industrial zone. It called for “enforced buffer zones” in such sensitive and natural areas and said no permits for a yard containing industrial equipment and such materials should ever have been granted in such an area.