The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) Board has today, 19 December 2016, approved the IPPC permit authorising the continued operation of Delimara 1, 2a and 2b to be operated by Enemalta Plc., Delimara 3 (conversion from HFO/ gasoil to Natural Gas) to be operated by Delimara 3 Power Generation Ltd., and Delimara 4 CCGT and LNG Terminal to be operated by ElectroGas Malta Ltd. at the Delimara Power Station (DPS).

The IPPC permit issued covers a number of monitoring obligations which operators are to fulfil throughout the validity of the permit to ensure the required level of environment protection.

This permit is for a multi operator installation under the Industrial emissions (IPPC) Regulations, and includes a regulatory framework which covers operations common to all three operators, as well as operator specific sub permits regulating the operations of individual operators.

Electrogas Malta Ltd as operator of the Floating Storage Unit (FSU), Regasification plant and the three new combined cycle gas turbines are required to submit specific information (as detailed in the permit) during the pre-commissioning and commissioning phases of the plant. Approval by ERA and other Regulatory Authorities such as Transport Malta (TM) and the COMAH Competent Authority is required to enable the operator to progress from one phase to the other to ensure that all required obligations covered in the relevant previous phases have been fulfilled.

Delimara 3 Power Generation Ltd., who is responsible for the conversion of the diesel engines to be operated on gas are also to fulfil certain commissioning obligations prior to enabling full operation of the plant.

All public consultation documents are available on the ERA website here

Malta will be part of a European earth monitoring system through a consortium that includes the Planning Authority, the Malta Council for Science and Technology and the Environment and Resources Authority.

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​​Advert ​for the Delimara Power Station Public Consultation

The Environment and Resources Authority would like to notify the public that the 30 day public consultation for the Environment Impact Assessment process and the IPPC application will commence on Wednesday 19th October and will close on Thursday 17th November.

The Authority has requested the operators to make the applications and the related documentation together with the EIA documents available at the Marsaxlokk, Birzebbuga and Zejtun Local Councils.

As advertised on the Sunday newspapers, during this period, hard copies of all these documents will also be available for viewing at the Authority’s offices in Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa between Monday and Friday from 7:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 15:00 and online on the Authority’s website.

The public is invited to review these documents and submit any comments in writing by the 17th November, to the Environment and Resources Authority by either sending an email on [email protected] or [email protected], as relevant, or by writing to the Authority at the address below:

Director of Environment
IPPC: (IP0002/07/E)
Environment and Resources Authority
Hexagon

Installations such as the Delimara Power Station are regulated through the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permitting process under the Industrial Emissions (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) regulations.

This process adopts an integrated approach that takes into account the whole environmental performance of the operations, while requiring that the best available techniques are applied by the industry to minimise pollution. By applying the Industrial Emissions regulations, ERA ensures that emissions such as greenhouse gases, polluting substances, wastewater and waste from these industries are minimised.

In its assessment of this IPPC application, ERA is consulting with other national entities which have various remits related to a specific industry. In its discussions with these entities and the applicant, ERA ensures that all the information required to make a sound evaluation and decision on the permit is requested.

In order to honour its IPPC obligations, and as the national environment regulator in Malta, ERA shall be publishing the IPPC application for a thirty (30) day consultation window to give the public the opportunity to review and comment on the application.

It is pertinent to note that during this period, the authority shall be granting access to the application and related documents at its end to assess the IPPC permit application. This information will be made available on ERA’s website, at ERA’s front office and the local council of the localities in which the installation is proposed. Moreover, a public hearing will be carried out towards the end of the public consultation period.

At the end of the public consultation phase, ERA shall be taking account of submissions received from the public and addressing the issues raised in order to provide clarification to the public. The response to the public consultation shall also be published. Following conclusion of the public consultation, ERA shall continue the process of discussions with the operators in relation to the permit conditions which will form part of the IPPC permit. At the end of this discussion period, ERA Board will take a decision on the IPPC permit at another meeting held in public.

Following the heavy rains of the last two days, the Environment and Resources Authority investigated the turtle nest at Golden Bay to determine whether there were any turtle hatchlings that were trapped in the wet sand and needed assistance to emerge.

It was noted that the vast majority of the eggs, around 85%, had successfully hatched and only a few eggs remained in the nest. These remaining eggs had died in the early stages of development, so would not have hatched.

The Environment and Resources Authority is updating the Air Quality Plan (AQP) together with Transport Malta. The Plan consists of measures, mostly targeting pollution from road transport.

The European Environment Agency state that 70 % of the pollutants and 40 % of the greenhouse gas emissions from European road transport arise due to urban transport. However, they also inform that while human activities are the main cause of poor air quality, natural sources of air pollution also play a role. ERA has determined that the most common natural sources of particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns (PM10) in Malta are desert dust and salt from sea spray.

The AQP will not be targeting the natural sources of particulate matter, but has been specifically designed with Transport Malta to address ambient concentrations of PM10 (particles) and nitrogen dioxide (NOx) generated by traffic.

For further information one may contact [email protected].

This PR is being issued in relation to recent articles on noise generating activities within Buskett.

ERA would like to inform organisers of activities in Natura 2000 sites, such as il-Buskett, that such activities would require authorisation from ERA before initiating these activities. The ERA is currently setting up a system to handle these activities.

The biodiversity within these areas are afforded varying degrees of protection through national and international legislation. In view of this, a permitting system is in place so as to ensure that activities within these sits do not negatively affect their habitat or species.

The list of Natura 2000 sites and application forms are available on the ERA website  https://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Natura-2000-Datasheets-Maps.aspx and Nature Permitting. Filled in application forms are to be submitted to [email protected] 30 days ahead of any activity. Alternatively, they may be sent by post to Environment Permitting Services, Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa.​ MRS 1441.