The ERA Board considered 9 applications for an environmental permit, all of which were favourably determined subject to specific post decision requirements.

– Two permits related to quarries, whereby one of the permits was granted for the excavation of soft stone from an existing licenced soft stone quarry in Mqabba, the crushing of stone for recycling and the backfilling of the excavation void; whereas another permit has been renewed for the restoration of a quarry void in Kirkop. The permits, apart from conditioning the activities applied for, also address the holistic operations at these quarries in line with good environmental practices.

– Another application that was determined by the ERA Board concerned the renewal and variation request of an existing scrapyard in Marsa for the storage of scrap batteries and storage and processing of scrap metals prior to export. The variation request included the proposal to accept, store and dismantle specified types of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), namely degassed air conditioner units. The permit includes conditions related to site management and control, waste storage and processing, site containment and reporting amongst others.

– A request for the variation of an environment permit was also determined for the extension of an already permitted scrapyard in Għaxaq. The operator has requested the inclusion of an additional area as part of the facility to be covered by the environmental permit so the operations would be in line with environmental best practices. The environment permit covers obligations and controls related to the processing of End-of-Life Vehicles and site containment so as to avoid contamination.

– A renewal request to operate a hotel at Mellieħa. This permit covers various obligations including the control and monitoring of the discharges to sea and the emissions from combustion plants on site. The hotel is located in the proximity of a Special Protection Area (SPA) MT0000112: Il-Baħar ta’ Madwar Għawdex and the environmental permit includes conditions to address the implementation of measures to reduce the effects of external lightning on avifauna, for the approval of the Authority.

– An extension to the current permit for a waste management facility in Luqa has been granted to continue its operations to receive, store and process various waste streams including Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), scrap metal, and other hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

– A permit for remediation works at Wied Qirda has been granted by the ERA Board to reinstate part of the valley which has been widened, to remove construction debris from the valley bed that were deposited during the said works and to carry out other works intended to restore this part of the valley.

– An application for an environment permit for an existing service station in Ħal Lija which has been refurbished to introduce Vapour Recovery systems, as required by applicable legislation has also been determined. The operator has carried out decommissioning of old equipment in line with a decommissioning plan which was approved by the Environment and Resources Authority.

– A new environment permit application to operate a manufacturing plant located at Bulebel Industrial Estate has also been determined. The permit covers operations related to the manufacturing of plastic products and obligations related to the associated activities of waste management and by-product management.

30 June 2020