St Paul’s Bay mayor Mario Salerno this afternoon published a letter, dated July 10, which the council had received from Mepa instructing it that “any sand removed from the slipway should be dumped back into the sea within the same area of the bay”.
The authority also requested the council for a site plan for an alternative site for the deposition of sand.
Although this site plan was not published, the mayor said that the council’s executive secretary followed Mepa’s instructions to the letter.
The council and the authority have been trading accusations about a mound of silt that had been removed from a Qawra inlet and then dumped into a swimming area some metres upshore.
While the council has claimed that the mess was a problem of Mepa’s own making as the authority had refused the council’s suggestion to use the sand dug up elsewhere on land, Mepa claimed the council had failed to obtain the necessary authorisation before dumping the sand.
The silt is now being excavated from the sea for a second time and stored temporarily at an undisclosed location in Qawra, until a long-term solution can be found.
The silt dumping was part of a clearing exercise for a nearby slipway, which had become clogged with sand and silt over recent years.
In its July 10 letter Mepa wrote:
“Please note that the deposition of sand on land as proposed in your application dated 19/06/12 is not permissible. Any sand removed from the slipway should be dumped back into the sea within the same area of the bay.
“Great care must be taken not to dump the sand onto posidonia grass.
“Thus to be able to process your application further, please provide us with site plan for an alternative site for the deposition of sand. Site selection should be in the sea within the same bay and not on posidonia grass.
“Just for your information, you may wish to note that to remove sand and deposit it on land would also require a permit from the director of public works as per the Sand (Preservation) Act as amended. Also the use of slipways is regulated by the director of Agriculture and Fisheries as per the Slipway (Use) Regulations.”