Residents of Zurrieq have also complained about inadvertent blasting, following the article on quarry blasting in the Santa Margerita area in Mosta, carried last Sunday in this newspaper.
This time the quarry concerned is the one near the Nigret residential area known as Tal-Macina, behind the Zurrieq reservoir and Belvedere that overlooks the road leading to Wied iz-Zurrieq and Blue Grotto. The area, which has a number of quarries, is known as Wied Moqbol.
One particular resident who was walking in the area close to the quarry on 13 August had a narrow escape when dynamite, which is thought to have misfired during previous blasts, exploded. Debris from the blast was carried down some 500 metres into the valley.
As with the case of Santa Margerita, there were no warnings whatsoever that a blast was going to take place and it was also not mentioned on the schedule of blasting in all quarries reproduced on the website www.mepa.org.mt/asps/Blasting Upload_ Results/BlastingSchedule.aspx.
There were also another two blasts on the morning of 19 August. This time debris did not fall into the valley but again the blasts were not listed on the schedule.
Other residents said that this quarry is most likely going to break up the rocks of the ‘Fuq ta l-ibjar’ wells, archaeological structures that were used to store rainwater in Roman times. The hole-like structures risk breaking up due to vibrations caused by the explosions. The structures are not visible as they lie below the ground, and tyres and other rubbish has been dumped in the vicinity.
According to other Nigret residents, quarry owners use more dynamite to set off bigger blasts so that they would not need to break huge boulders with pneumatic rock breakers (Hi macs). They also said it is probable that when Mepa monitors the blasts, less dynamite is used.
The quarry at Nigret also presents another problem to residents who live close by. A large amount of talc-like dust created from rock cutting in the quarry is deposited in the area and trucks loaded with material from the quarry often leave a cloud of dust behind. The area is all covered in fine white dust until summer ends, explained a resident, and is only clean when the first rains come, which carry all the dust to Blieqa cliff face and finally ends up in the sea.
Meanwhile, according the Zurrieq Local Plan of the Malta Environment Planning Authority published in 2005 following a public consultation draft, limiting quarrying activity at Wied Moqbol is one of the planning issues concerning Zurrieq.
The reports states that hard stone quarrying operations shall continue within the approved quarry boundaries at Wied Moqbol, as indicated in the Zurrieq Policy Map. No extensions to these quarries will be permitted to encroach on the areas identified as Areas of Ecological Importance and Areas of Archaeological Importance.
Applications for extensions outside the permitted quarrying boundary will only be considered subject to the submission of a restoration plan to be approved by Mepa.
Once mineral operations in specific parts of the quarry have been exhausted, Mepa requires restoration of these sites only for restricted use.
The report adds that other considerations attached to development permits for construction industry related activities (within the quarries) shall include bank guarantees to secure implementation of dust generation attenuation measures to prevent the spread of dust from the quarries and quarry related traffic, onto surrounding areas.
It is unlikely that the quarry will be allowed to extend beyond the area indicated within the pending application at surface level, although applications for vertical extensions may still be considered favourably. Nevertheless, particular attention should be paid to the coastal cliffs and scheduled areas in the surrounding sites.