The Planning Authority has sanctioned three 55-ton LPG storage tanks at the Easygas storage facility in Luqa, amid concerns over the lack of clearance from the Civil Protection Department.
Easygas was granted two permits to cover developments carried out without a permit at its facility in Valletta Road, including temporary distribution areas, a ring road and three 55-ton LPG storage tanks.
The company was ordered to pay a total fine of €17,456.
During a hearing yesterday, board members raised concerns over the fact that the CPD had not given its clearance for the larger gas tanks. The department gave no response to the PA’s consultation request, which is legally considered to constitute no objection.
Each tank would only hold 20 tons of gas, the same as what was originally approved
PN representative Ryan Callus, however, said the non-response was “unacceptable” given the potential level of risk and asked whether the decision could be deferred to request the CPD to be present.
Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) chairman Victor Axiak voted against the permits.
Project architect Edwin Mintoff stressed that each tank would only hold 20 tons of gas, the same as what was originally approved, although the tanks themselves are larger. He said the CPD regularly visited the site and were aware of the proposal.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority also gave its clearance under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (Comah) regulations, as long as the total amount of stored LPG does not exceed 200 tons, the threshold for a ‘lower-tier’ Comah establishment.
According to the developers, the plans also include a number of mitigation measures to address all possible hazardous scenarios.
They stated that the net inherent risk of the overall proposal was less than half that of the previous, smaller tanks due to the ‘mounded’ design.
The net inherent risk of the overall proposal was less than half that of the previous, smaller tanks due to the ‘mounded’ design
The issued permits include conditions requiring the developer to eventually obtain CPD clearance as well as an updated environmental permit.
The sanctioned developments include temporary distribution areas intended to hold domestic LPG gas cylinders for a short period during the day while the filled cylinders are transferred to and from on delivery trucks.
They also include a boundary wall and ring road to be used as a controlled access for fire tenders in cases of emergency, which will extend the site onto the adjacent buffer zone.
The case officer said the overall sanctioning was acceptable as the use of the site had already been established and the proposal related only to the reorganisation of the site.