Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1003259
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 JULY 2018 5 NEWS Committee (MEUSAC). "Obtaining a majority de- pends on the votes of the party members within the House of Commons… how will the sen- timent expressed by Davis [in his resignation letter] reflect on the government's position? Will May have the numbers in Parliament? There are many questions…" Xuereb said the UK govern- ment's current infighting was weakening the country's posi- tion in talks, and making things harder for the EU. He said he was concerned about the re- percussions the resignation could have on the talks. "It is in the interest of the EU for the UK to have a strong and clear position on Brexit, in order for negotiations to take place." Following last Friday's meet- ing, May gave the impression that she had all of her cabinet on board, Xuereb said. "Clearly she does not. The accusations being made by Davis are seri- ous, and even though he's not trying to harm the government, his position is very clear." Moreoever, Xuereb said that while Brexit negotiations were meant to be reaching their final stages by now, it was clear that there were still a number of dif- ficulties. He questioned whether the appointment of a staunch Brexiter in Davis' place would be enough to accommodate everyone within the party. "Junior ministers resigned to- gether with Davis, but whether further resignations are to be expected depends on whether all members of the party will be satisfied with the new min- ister." More resignations are sure to follow Former foreign minister George Vella said that the res- ignations would likely trigger more resignations from the cabinet, including May herself. Similarly, former shadow foreign minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said he expects more resignations. "The move might trigger other ministers, who shared the same opinions as Davis, to quit… I do think there will be other resignations," Mifsud Bonnici said, adding that con- sequences also depend on who will be taking Davis' place. Since Vella and Mifsud Bon- nici gave their comments to MaltaToday, Steve Baker, Da- vis' junior Brexit minister, also handed his resignation. Davis' resignation is further complicated by the fact that there were a significant num- ber of people working under his direction, Vella said. He pointed out that since May had not supported Brexit herself, there was a constant battle between the two, adding that while Davis was leading the negotiations, his letter indi- cated that he felt he was "bend- ing over backwards throughout the process". Vella said that, ultimately, the UK government was not clear on which form of Brexit it wanted to take. Mifsud Bonnici highlighted that the latest development would create further difficul- ties, on top of those May's cabi- net is already dealing with. He said he felt there were "mixed messages" on whether Davis would resign or not prior to him doing so. "Even before the meeting on Friday, it was clear that the Prime Minis- ter was in a difficult position. There appear to be difficulties in the cabinet, and moments of tension." Jeremy Hunt JAMES DEBONO THE proposed reactivation of the Hondoq desalination plant will result in the hourly discharge of 500m3 of brine, which will be disposed in deep water, 260 metres from the plant and have a nega- tive impact on protected sea grasses, which are highly sen- sitive to changes in water sa- linity. However, while the Environ- ment and Resources Authority is considering the project "fa- vourably" if adequate measures contemplated in ecological studies are fully implemented, the Qala Council is calling for more comprehensive studies to ensure the protection of the sea grasses, which keep the ecology of the beach in balance. The plant will be extracting water from the sea, desalinat- ing it and discharging the re- sidual brine water back into the marine environment through a submerged 260-metre-tunnel outfall. The AA report indicates that the brine will be released in deeper waters through a tun- nel, which will be directed in a way that avoids negative impacts on Posidonia ocean- ica, which is very sensitive to changes in water temperature and salinity. The discharge point is devoid of sea grasses and dominated by "bare sand and mud". The brine is expected to sink onto the seabed. The Environment and Resources Authority had called for an "appropriate assessment"(AA) report to assess the impact of the reac- tivated plant on surrounding protected natural areas. But the council has now called for a full Environment Impact Assessment to assess the wider impacts of the pro- ject. Five to seven trucks per hour One of the concerns of the council revolves on the need for the "construction" or "resurfacing"of the main access roads to the plant mentioned in the report . The council has re- cently resurfaced the road lead- ing to the plant. "Does this mean that new roads are required and where, and has consideration been taken of the fact that the road has recently been resurfaced by the council?" The council also asked for more information on the route , which will be taken by the five to seven trucks, which will be passing every hour to under- take works on the new plant. On its part the Environment and Resources Authority has called for proper synergy in the management of traffic dur- ing the construction phase "to pre-empt undue difficulties in the continued use of existing access routes and avoid "pres- sures for new or altered access routes". The council has also called for enforceable guarantees with regards to noise abatement measures. Plant to reduce ground water pressures The seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant will be produc- ing 9,000m3/day of potable water. The process entails the extraction of seawater from deep shore wells sunk in Cor- alline Limestone, to eventually settle in a buffer tank. For this project, six new seawater wells will be constructed. Following the separation of brine from potable water, the brine will be discharged at sea at low pressure through a hori- zontal directional drilled out- fall, submerged at sea, 260m away from the coast. The po- table water will be piped to the Ta' Cenc reservoirs across the island of Gozo. 80% of Gozo's supply of water is highly reliant on groundwa- ter abstraction. The appropri- ate assessment describes this source as "a scarce and some- what contaminated natural re- source on the Maltese islands". The AA warns that Gozo's to- tal dependence on groundwa- ter extraction would contribute towards the gradual depletion of the island's freshwater re- source. The remaining 20% of Gozo's water supply is dependent on Cirkewwa's reverse osmosis plant and the submarine pipe- line that connects the two is- lands. The AA warns that any failures in the supply will not be able to cater for the provi- sion of water used for human consumption on the island of Gozo. ERA has concluded that the project can be "considered fa- vourably" if all the mitigation measures proposed in the AA are implemented. Brine and trucks: Qala Council's concerns on reactivation of Hondoq desalination plant Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May