88
Ambjent Environment
An Alert Parliament. Members of Parliament should not have an active role in the running of the new Authority which substitutes MEPA and MRA. Parliament should make the necessary tools available such that a Parliamentary Select Committee dealing with the Environment, Resource Management and Land Use Planning can oversee the new Authority querying its Board of Directors and its principal officers on its operations whenever this is required. In this manner both the Authority’s Board of Directors and the Minister/ Parliamentary Secretary politically responsible for the Authority will be ultimately accountable to Parliament on a continuous basis. The Role of the Community. Various controversies have arisen on the impacts of large projects on the community. Reference is being made for example to the Sant’ Antnin Waste Recycling Plant,the touristic development at Ħondoq ir-Rummien, the extension of the Delimara Power Station, the extension of the Freeport and the mega projects referred to as the MIDI and the Fort Cambridge projects at Tigne Sliema. In each of the above mentioned examples the community spoke up both directly as well as through civil society. In such cases AD is proposing that after the responsible authority would have processed the development application the community should have the right to express its opinion as to whether the project should proceed. This will be carried out through a local referendum called after a pre-identified number of registered voters make a request in line with the requirements of legislation or else through a call made by the Local Council on behalf of the community. A project shall be submitted for the community’s consideration in a referendum after all the relative studies would have been concluded as well after the said studies would have been available for a reasonable time for all those wishing to peruse them. However in the case of infrastructural projects of national importance it shall be possible for Parliament (which represents the whole community at a national level) to intervene and take a final decision after ascertaining that the objections of the local community have been addressed. Environmental Justice. AD understands that projects of national importance will still face difficulties. This will keep recurring until such time that Central Government and Parastatal bodies do not address adequately the environmental impacts of these projects and until such time that sites for such projects keep being located in the southern parts of the country. AD shall insist on the implementation of environmental justice such that whilst infra structural and industrial projects are planned with the minimal environmental impacts in mind the burdens created will as far as is possible not be shouldered only by the residential community in the southern parts of the island.
It is also an issue of justice that whoever carried out illegal construction activity shoulders his responsibilities. In particular Alternattiva Demokratika is proposing the immediate demolition of the illegally constructed boathouses at l-Aħrax talMellieħa as well as those in other zones close to the sea such that the space close to the coast is back in community ownership to be enjoyed by all. Water. Water resources have been mismanaged throughout the years. Water extraction from the aquifer has been carried out without taking into consideration its natural replenishment. This does not only refer to the recorded water statistics. It also results from the number of boreholes which have been tolerated throughout the years. AD considers that the water extracted from illegal boreholes as the misappropriation of a publicly owned resource. AD also believes that water – which is a strategic resource of national importance – should be priced in a realistic way. In the short run, all unregistered boreholes should be banned. In the longer run, save for some strategic exceptions such as agriculture, the true price of water should be reflected in its consumption, where wasteful practices, and not basic use of water, are to be penalized. Basic use should be subsidized. The Water Services Corporation should have full control of all water production, which should then be distributed according to the country’s priorities. Eventually all bore holes shall cease to be operational and steps have to be taken to ensure that it is clear to all that the water table is public property. Water used for human consumption as well as all water used for domestic purposes is partly sourced from ground water (44%) whilst the rest is the result of processing of sea water through Reverse Osmosis technology. This amounts for around 29 million cubic metres annually. Up till the present day the sewage generated in the Maltese islands which during 2011 was estimated at 24 million cubic metres (21,858,000 cubic metres in Malta and 1,982,000 cubic metres in Gozo) is being dumped into the sea, recently subsequent to purification.