Environmental Impact Assessments
The Environment Protection Department and the Planning Authority
are jointly responsible for the Environmental Impact Assessment
Process. Through subsidiary legislation under the Development
Planning Act, Directive 85/337/EEC (assessment of the effects
of certain public and private projects on the environment) has
been adopted and entered into force this year.
At present, a Project Description Statement
(PDS) describing the proposed project and its envisaged impacts
has to be prepared when an EIA is required. The Maltese NGOs
suggest that those applications that require a PDS are clearly
defined. According to the latest EIA regulations the following
do not require an EIA and it is strongly believed that they should:
1. The construction of fireworks factories.
2. Groundwater abstraction or artificial groundwater recharge
schemes where the annual volume of water abstracted or recharged
is equivalent to or exceeds 50,000 cubic metres per annum (taken
from Annex of EU Directive 97/11/EC).
3. Exploration (whether land based or sea based) for oil, petroleum
and natural gas.
4. Any project consuming significant quantities of natural resources
(water, energy, minerals, etc.).
The NGOs agree that the EIA should be
carried out by independent consultants however point out that
due to the fact that the Consultant is chosen by the developer
it always seems to result in an EIA supporting the project.
The NGOs propose that a list of consultants that are agreed upon
by NGOs in conjunction with the PA, be published and if any consultants
fail to live up to the standards expected by NGOs then a recommendation
for them to be removed from the list would be presented by the
NGOs.
The NGOs observe that in some cases,
the EIA carried out by the consultant appointed by the developer
focuses mainly on the positive impact that the project could
have on the environment, very often overlooking the detrimental
side effects. Therefore to minimise this risk of this happening,
the terms of reference of major projects should be agreed with
an NGO board as well as the consultants.
The Maltese NGOs believe that the first
principle for all EIAs should be to consider the sustainability
of each application in terms of the prevailing situation in the
country eg: if we have too many hotels there should be a general
presumption that no more hotels are needed.
We also believe that the precautionary
principle is not emphasised enough in the EIA regulations. When
environmental data is lacking, a development should not be given
the green light on the basis of lack of data and that the impact
of the project in unknown.
Furthermore, many EIA's including the
one for the proposed golf course suffer from a syndrome wherein
the consultants have assumed that should the project not be given
a go-ahead, nothing will possibly improve in the area; this principle
should be discarded because we expect ministries to effectively
start making improvements in these areas as well in the immediate
future.
NGOs point out that EIAs should not look
only at the immediate effects on the area where the project will
take place, but that it should co examine the cumulative or combined
impacts of sub projects that are done as part of the overall
project. Furthermore, the EIAs must always be completed prior
to the execution of the works. Apart from enforcing the development
conditions during the construction phase of the project, we strongly
suggest that projects are to be made subject to another environmental
impact assessment during operation - to keep the developers in
check and have their permit revoked or be subject to a fine if
found to be in default. We think that this second assessment
should not be carried out by the same consultants employed by
the developer in the EIA but by the PA or the EPD. It should
not be as extensive an EIA as the first, but it should examine
key areas of impact.
The NGOs applaud the procedure whereby
EIAs are presented for Public Consultation and that any public
views are included; we also agree that a summary of the EIA,
the terms of reference and the site plans are available on Internet
since this makes them easily accessible to one and all. However,
a sufficient time period should be secured for studying these
plans and providing comments. We believe that the 15-day period
for review of the Environmental Impact Statement is not enough.
Furthermore, a copy of the draft EIS should be made available
to environmental NGOs for proper review just as the Local Councils
are given a copy. With the new EIA regulations, this is not
the case. In certain cases EIAs should also be produced in Maltese.
Furthermore Part VII of the Act states
that a bid bond must be put up by the developer against environmental
damage. The NGOs ask who will stipulate the bid bond amount?
The act does not specify so we suggest that certain guidelines
for bid bonds be developed.
The Maltese NGOs are concerned about
the effective independence of the Planning Authority from influence
of the Government and the Political Parties and fear that decisions
taken are not always to the benefit of the Maltese environment.
We therefore demand more transparency and effective public participation.
Access to Environmental Information
Directive 90/313/EEC (freedom of access to information on the
environment) has entered into force this year. This enables
public participation and clear procedures of data accessibility.
Environmental organisations strongly
believe that transparency and public participation are essential
building blocks to effective, public supported, environmental
policies, and essential for the realisation of sustainable development.
The public at large, and environmental organisations in particular,
are key players in promotion of sustainability, environmental
policies and enforcement of existing rules. Access to information
and adequate public participation mechanisms are required to
make this possible.
The Development Planning Act already
provides for the requirement that application reports, development
permissions, together with the relative plans and documents,
environmental statements and planning related documents are made
available to the public. Furthermore planning policies are subject
to a public consultation process, enabling wider participation
in policy preparation and increasing public awareness.
The 1998 State of the Environment Report
of Malta, was an important step in the right direction since
it enabled the authorities, institutions and individuals to know
in what state the Maltese environment stood. The Maltese NGOs
believe that this exercise should be carried out annually to
allow year to year comparisons thus identifying the areas in
which considerable improvement has taken place, areas of status
quo, and areas of deterioration which need working on.
As the Maltese NGOs pointed out in other
position papers, access to information and data accessibility,
should be applicable across all sectors. This includes:
- That air quality data should be made public on a daily basis
in the Maltese Media and that Local Councils be involved in air
quality control
- With regards to the protection of groundwater against pollution
caused by certain dangerous substances, we demand that the government
determines and publishes a list of pollutants that will be prevented
from entering the ground water system. The publishing of these
relevant substances will make the implementation of this directive
more transparent.
Reporting
Subsidiary legislation under the new Environment Protection Act,
is being adopted and will enter into force until the fourth quarter
of 2002. This subsidiary legislation will transpose Directive
91/692/EEC (standardising and rationalising reports on the implementation
of certain directives relating to the environment); Decision
92/446/EEC (questionnaires relating to Directives in the water
sector); Decision 94/741/EC and Decision 97/622/EC (questionnaires
for member states reports on the implementation of certain Directives
in the waste sector); and Directive 96/511/EC (questionnaires
provided for in Directives 80/779/EEC, 82/884/EEC, 84/360 EEC
and 85/203/EEC). The Environmental Protection Department is
responsible for the implementation of the Acquis in this area.
The European Environment Agency and
the European Environment Information and Observation Network
The Maltese NGOs congratulate the Maltese
government on becoming a member of the EEA on 9th October 2000
(ratified by Parliament 14th February 2001). Candidate Countries'
participation in the EEA offers numerous benefits for the Candidate
Countries and for the environment of Europe as a whole.
Financial Instrument for the Environment
(LIFE).
Malta has participated in LIFE Third Countries since 1993. On
accession, Malta will be able to participate in the two other
strands of the LIFE programme. The Maltese NGOs reiterate the
principles that should be followed during the planning stages
for the use of such funds:
Ø The first step should be the
diagnosis of the environmental problems.
Ø The projects undertaken must
come as a result of the studies, taking into account future trends,
and the impacts (positive and negative) for their broad range
of influence in the framework of a strategic assessment.
Ø Planning should be holistic
and examine the economic growth created by the project as much
as the environmental and social effects.
Ø Projects must be planned with
an objective of creating maximum value for environmental protection
out of the support provided, rather than securing the maximum
absorption of funds.
Ø The necessary institutions that
will be managing the funds and implementing the projects, must
be ready and in operation before the projects are approved.
This would avoid mismanagement that could lead to delays and
to the insufficient monitoring of the environmental dimension.
Ø In view of these observations,
the role that civil society and environmental NGOs have to play
is very important.
Prudent and Rational Utilisation of
Natural Resources
Malta's environmental policy will have to ensure that its scarce
natural resources are used prudently and in a rational way.
The Maltese NGOs believe that for Malta to conserve its scarce
natural resources, the following actions are necessary:
Stone:
that the price of local virgin materials including stone, should
reflect the real cost of their provision to promote efficient
extraction/recovery/recycling of these resources. Furthermore,
the charges on waste disposal should reflect the real cost of
disposing of this waste. This would act as an incentive for
quarry owners and constructors to reduce and avoid unsustainable
exploitation of resources, particularly stone.
Water:
As pointed out in the position paper on water, the Maltese NGOs
insist that to ensure the rational utilisation of water:
a. the price of water reflects its real
cost to encourage the use of ecologically friendly machinery
and appliances; the repair of leakages; and the treatment of
urban wastewater. Sound water pricing would lead to more efficient
water use and demand management.
b. the infrastructure of water distribution be immediately repaired
to limit the excessive amount of water that is lost during distribution
c. the authorities ensure that everyone pays for the water they
consume in view of abuse due to faulty meters and theft
d. the illegal extraction of ground water through the hundreds
of unregistered boreholes over the Maltese Islands be stopped.
Energy:
Undoubtedly two of the most important natural resources available
to the Maltese Islands are the sun and the wind. In view of
the fact that c. 11% of Malta's energy is used to desalinate
sea water at a very high cost, the Maltese NGOs request the government
to consider the use of alternative sources of energy like wind
and solar energy that are probable more economically and ecologically
feasible.
Conclusion
The commitments made by the government in the negotiations need
to be followed by serious implementation and enforcement of the
required new legislation. This is a question of credibility
of the government vis a vis its own public, as well as to the
other EU Member States. The NGOs believe that during the accession
process regular and transparent monitoring and evaluation is
necessary.
Furthermore the NGOs insist that strengthening
administrative capacities is an absolute priority. Administration
should have quality, sufficient staff, enough legal status and
good political support. Awareness raising and training is essential
for politicians, civil servants and the public.
The Maltese NGOs insist that the transposition
of EU legislation is only a means to an end. We request the
government to state how it intends to ensure that these directives
are being IMPLEMENTED and to specify what instruments will be
used to ensure the implementation of directives. Furthermore,
the Maltese NGOs demand that the government specifies how this
will be ENFORCED and what corrective action will be taken against
infringement.
