Just as the European Union is in the process of issuing a formal complaint against Malta over the waiving of Environmental Impact Assessments on two developments overlooking Gozo’s Ramla Bay, the Nadur parish began work this week on one of the projects in question.
Nadur farmers and residents are furious about the development of a 600-grave cemetery perched just above a large swath of fertile farmland, which is at risk of contamination by run-off water from the cemetery.
The agriculturally-rich farm and orchard land rising above Ramla Bay is fed by a natural spring situated above the cemetery, which will now pass through the ground of the planned cemetery before making its way to farmers’ wells and reservoirs.
But objections and petitions by the Nadur farmers, whose livelihood depends on the fresh spring water feeding the valley, have fallen on one deaf ear after another as plans for the ultra-modern graveyard have been pushed ahead without an essential EIA having been carried out.
A 450-strong petition delivered to the Gozo Bishop Mario Grech in February remains completely unacknowledged to this day, Nadur Farmers Cooperative president Martin Camilleri said when contacted yesterday.
The farmers are at a loss after having been ignored during the project’s consultation process, but are nevertheless going ahead with their protestations even though the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) has, inexplicably, according to many involved in the issue, sanctioned the potentially ecologically devastating project.
Work began on Monday at the top of the hill, where land is being cleared to make way for the cemetery, and, by yesterday, workers had begun digging into the hillside. The work has also reportedly encroached on part of a private field, but the owners are said to be wary, for a number of reasons, about objecting to the encroachment.
This week Mr Camilleri presented new petitions to the courts as well as to MEPA, while samples of spring water have been sent to Italy to verify its quality and potability.
He added that some 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of fresh water are provided by the spring every 24 hours while the amount rises steeply during the rainy season, providing considerable volumes of drinking and high-quality irrigation water to the farmers and their families.
The Nadur farmers are seriously concerned their farmland, with citrus groves numbering some 5,000 trees, with an estimated annual yield of 150 tonnes, is at risk of contamination.
The health risks of run-off water from a cemetery holding 600 graves, with an estimated total population of 1,700 corpses, are numerous, not least of which is the fact that such water would eventually end up in one of Gozo’s most popular swimming spot – Ramla l-Hamra.
Farmers are incredulous over the fact that a previously proposed site in Nadur had been turned down by MEPA because of concern over potential contamination of a nearby borehole and question why the farmland directly in line with the cemetery would not be similarly contaminated.
They are also incensed that MEPA had never spoken or consulted with them when assessing the parish’s application, as well as the fact that it has not carried out an EIA, apparently being content with reports drawn up by the Malta Resources Authority and the Department of Agriculture.
They remain, however, unconvinced by redrafted plans approved by MEPA, which apparently safeguard the water quality. They are also sceptical over plans to waterproof the cemetery by means of a 100 metre concrete bed, insisting that concrete inevitably cracks if not at first, then eventually.
The EU said recently that it is to take formal action against Malta and will seek clarifications from the Maltese authorities with respect to the two developments overlooking either side Ramla l-Hamra Bay – the Ulysses Lodge and Nadur cemetery projects.
The complaint follows an analysis by the Directorate-General Enviro-nment’s Infringement Unit, which has found possible breaches of both the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Habitats Directives.