A service station built outside the development zone in St Paul’s Bay could negatively affect the health of residents in the area, the Environment and Resources Authority has been warned.
An environmental impact assessment found that the planned 875-square-metre petrol station in Burmarrad Road could possibly be a health risk because of the transportation of hazardous substances.
The assessment, compulsory when applying for such permits, noted that “the project will introduce the handling of hazardous substances and higher levels of benzene and volatile organic compounds, among others, in proximity to residential areas”.
While noting there would be additional fumes and vapour emissions in the area as a result of the development, the assessment noted that the extent was “unclear”.
The project will consist of a service station, office, retail outlet and car washing facilities. It will have two floors and an underground level used for separators, fuel tanks and water reservoirs. Fuel pumps, a car-charging facility, a retail outlet, a tyre service garage, an office, a landscaped area and parking bays will go on the ground floor.
A villa lies a few metres uphill along the entrance to the site and two other residences sit close to the proposed development, one about 200 metres southwest and the other about 100 metres east, across the road.
The site is not listed as archeologically sensitive, though it lies near an unscheduled military pillbox and 900 metres from the ecologically important Salini area. The development, it is also noted, will lead to a “significant change in the landscape and visual amenity of the site”, taking up an area of abandoned agricultural land.
The assessment says there are a number of trees on the site, located outside a development zone, adding that the impact on the area would be “significant”. On whether release of pollutants at the site risked contaminating land or water, the impact assessment established that while the potential impacts were not yet known, the proposal involved activity that could potentially be highly contaminating.
“Contamination of surface and groundwater may have a significant impact on protected species.
“A reduction in the amount of water infiltration may also significantly adversely affect protected, threatened or rare species by increasing competition as a result of a reduction of resource availability, desiccation and an increase in salinity.”
The degree of impact on protected, threatened or rare species “cannot be determined and therefore impact is unclear”.
It is being suggested to the Environment and Resources Authority that longer-term implications of the proposal be investigated further, as these were not yet clear.
While the assessment concludes that the project will not likely result in any significant social changes, there could be a number of environmental impacts that are also considered “unclear at this stage”.
The Planning Authority will be accepting feedback on the proposal until June 8.
claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com