Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1445232
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 JANUARY 2022 NEWS Environmental culprits to get petition rights on fines JAMES DEBONO PROPOSED rules on environ- mental fines could allow a re- duction in penalties and even give offenders the right to peti- tion a tribunal to waive infringe- ment fines. A permit by the Environment and Resources Authority is re- quired for activities that impact natural habitats and trees, or waste management. Such per- mits are required or the felling or transplanting of trees, or ac- tivities that generate carbon emissions. But failure to obtain such per- mits can be penalised by a max- imum fines – applicable only after a year of non-adherence to the law – of €50 to €150. Now under the proposed rules, issued for public consultation, daily fines will range from €30 to €60. And those fined by the ERA for illegal activities in protected ar- eas or who breach their permit conditions, will be able to peti- tion the EPRT (environmental and planning review tribunal), to haves fines reviewed or waived. A similar system introduced in 2012 already exists for planning infringements. A major change to reduce fines for offenders in breach of mul- tiple regulations is also being contemplated: in case of concur- rent offences subject to separate, daily fines for multiple offences, the offender will only be sub- ject to the highest daily penalty applicable at any one time. Cur- rently such concurrent offences carry daily penalties that accrue separately, until all offences are addressed to the ERA's satisfac- tion. The legal changes also intro- duce a distinction between ille- galities in protected areas, and those in non-protected areas. The highest fine for unauthor- ised activities in protected ar- eas will be a daily €60 coming into force only if the offender does not conform to regulations within a year. In some cases, this could increase by €10 daily. In non-protected areas, the maxi- mum daily fine will be €35. Fail- ure to submit reports and data as requested by the ERA, will carry a maximum daily fine of €30. While in most cases the fines remain the same as today, in some cases these represent a sig- nificant reduction of fines with regards to certain offences. For example, the failure to sub- mit reports and data on emis- sions currently carries a maxi- mum daily fine of €100; failure to obtain an environmental permit carries a daily €150 fine; petrol stations breaching rules on emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds can be fined €150 daily; similarly, the same fine ap- plies for illegal waste activities. The simplification and reduc- tion of these fines is being done by replacing two schedules list- ing offences, with one list for fines under four generic offenc- es – namely, activities without a permit, those without a permit inside protected areas, breach of permit conditions, and failure to submit reports to the ERA. The environment ministry says the proposed rules will "increase access to justice and provide better visibility to contraveners, thus ensuring a more fair and ef- ficient regime". The public has up to 9 Febru- ary to submit its feedback on the new rules. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Maximum daily €150 penalty for environmental offences in protected areas to go down to €60 Thank you... for having bought this newspaper The good news is that we're not raising the price of our newspaper We know times are still hard, but we have pledged to keep giving our readers quality news they deserve, without making you pay more for it. So thank you, for making it your MaltaToday Support your favourite newspaper with a special offer on online PDF subscriptions. Visit bit.ly/2X9csmr or scan the QR code Subscriptions can be done online on agendabookshop.com Same-day delivery at €1 for orders up to 5 newspapers per address. Subscribe from €1.15 a week Same-day print delivery from Miller Distributors mt The fires at the Mizieb woodland caused widespread damage and firefighters spent days trying to get the flames under control. The culprits were never apprehended