Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/718140
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 AUGUST 2016 JAMES DEBONO PALUMBO shipyard has appealed against an enforcement order is- sued by the Planning Authority in July following a two-year investi- gation by it into the alleged dump- ing of hazardous waste under a concrete platform erected in 2012 at the shipyard in Cospicua. The first sitting of the appeal is sched- uled for 1 September. The enforcement order was is- sued against the creation of a "landfill" without the necessary permits and the dumping of waste under the concrete platform in violation of the law. Palumbo was also reprimanded for not taking any action to transport the waste for authorized treatment. The Environment Protection Act expressly bans unauthorised land- fills while two legal notices issued in 2002 and 2011 oblige owners to deposit in authorised deposits any waste created by their activities. The enforcement order was is- sued in July, 21 months after enforcement officers collected samples from the site and after MaltaToday had revealed that an investigation to determine wheth- er a layer of concrete had illegally covered hazardous waste at the Palumbo shipyards in 2012 had been concluded. In June, Environment and Re- sources Authority chairman Vic- tor Axiak told MaltaToday that the ERA was in discussion with the Planning Authority "to deter- mine the most appropriate actions to be taken following the investi- gations".Palumbo has always in- sisted that the concrete bed had been laid on wasteland and any waste deposited there had been placed there before the company took over the yard. It also claims to have cleaned the area before the concrete platform was laid.In September 2014 the authority said in a statement it had started inves- tigating the Palumbo site after it received a tip off that quantities of grit blasting material were buried in the concrete foundations. From initial investigations it results that grit-blasting waste, which is generated by Palumbo's operations, had been used in the foundations of the yard and was buried under the concrete floor- ing. In December 2014, three months after the investigation commenced, a Planning Author- ity spokesperson told MaltaToday that it had received a laboratory report on the material collected from the site. Until July 2015 investigations were still ongoing. "The authority is carrying out its investigations using professional specialists and laboratory services", the spokes- person said. MaltaToday is informed that the major issue is to determine wheth- er the waste was deposited in 2012, when the area from where the samples were taken was cemented, or before Palumbo took over oper- ations. But even if it transpires that the waste was deposited before Palumbo took over, it may still be held legally responsible for bury- ing the waste under the concrete platform, sources told MaltaToday. News MENU NEW BAR & RESTAURANT LOCATION NEW We are moving next door to Table One Restaurant on Tigne Seafront opposite the Terrace Restaurant. Entrance from Table One or the Hotel Fortina. Using only the finest & freshest ingredients we specialise in a selection of delicious pizzas and homemade burgers. Restaurant on e Restaurant. rtina. redients we specialise in memade burgers. View from Il Giardino of the Terrace Restaurant & Valletta LUNCH: Sep (Fri, Sat & Sun) Oct (Open Daily). DINNER: (Open Daily). LIVE FOOTBALL AVAILABLE For reservations please call: 2346 6666 Fortina Spa Resort, Tigné Seafront Sliema SLM 3012, Malta www.FortinaSpaResort.com VIEW MENU Palumbo appeals enforcement against 'illegal landfill' Palumbo was slapped with an enforcement order for dumping waste under a concrete platform