A group of Maltese and Gozitan residents, with the support of environmental NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), have prepared and signed a petition urging the European Commission to ensure that Maltese authorities cease allowing sewage to be discharged into the sea, in breach of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
The petition was presented to PN MEP Peter Agius, who announced during a press conference in Xgħajra that he would be submitting it to the European Parliament's Petitions Committee on behalf of the residents, of which he is a member of.
FAA activist Astrid Vella said that despite Malta having been found guilty eight months ago by the European Court of Justice for breaching environmental laws, untreated or partially treated sewage continues to be discharged into the sea from treatment plants in Mellieħa and Xgħajra.
She said that this is affecting popular swimming areas in Qammiegħ and Xgħajra.
The petition states that the sewage discharge poses a threat to public health and marine ecosystems; that Malta has still not complied with the EU Court's ruling; that the government has not provided a timeline for improvements; and that there are no studies on whether the current infrastructure is sufficient to handle the pressures of overdevelopment and population growth.
The residents are calling on the European Commission to take action and push the Maltese government to resolve the issue.
MEP Agius said that clean seas are not a luxury but a right guaranteed by EU law, and criticised the government for continuing to grow the economy by increasing the population and construction development without considering the necessary infrastructure to support essential services.
He said that sewage treatment plants are a priority infrastructure for Malta. Agius said that the Water Services Corporation has admitted there is pressure on the sewage systems, but this, he argued, is no excuse.
"The government has an obligation to invest adequately to stop flooding marine ecosystems to the detriment of public health and the enjoyment of the sea by the Maltese and Gozitans," he said.
PN MP Rebekah Borg supported the residents behind the petition and said the biggest problem is the government's refusal to acknowledge the sewage discharge issue.
She said that although there is a promise to expand the Ċumnija plant, it is still awaiting a permit and, according to official documents, will take three years to complete from when the permit is issued.
Borg said that each day of delay harms Maltese and Gozitan citizens, as well as the tourists who visit the islands.
Agius confirmed that he will present the petition at the committee's next meeting and will ensure that the European Parliament takes action on the matter.
'Peter Agius campaigns by spreading fake news' - PL
The PL said in response that Agius was campaigning by "spreading fake news" - something it described as a "key feature" of how he operates."
"With the same fake news, he then tries to damage our country's reputation in the European institutions," the PL said.
The PL said that the facts are very different from those that Agius presented at a news conference "when he went to give the impression that our country's drainage systems did not reach and even said that sewage is constantly ending up in the sea."
"The irony is that Agius went on to say that he will report Malta to the European Union, when the European Environment Agency has in recent days classified beaches in Malta among the best in the European Union and of an excellent level," the PL said.
A national investment plan in the sector with an expenditure of €310 million, of which substantial amounts come from the European Union, has also been drawn up with the same European Union.
"Peter Agius is not alone in the PN relying on fake news, as there's also the PN media who in recent weeks said that rainwater in Xlendi was sewage or when last year Bernard Grech said that a natural phenomenon was sewage. Peter Agius and Rebekah Borg should start basing their political arguments based on substance and not on the distortion of facts and populism that perhaps rewards them some likes in the short term, but the truth will be revealed over time," the PL said.
"This is not the first time in recent weeks that Peter Agius has been caught spreading misleading information to fuel fear. He did the same when he opposed environmental projects aimed at improving waste treatment in our country. On that day instead of Rebekah Borg, he was accompanied by Claudette Buttigieg. However, the strategy of deception, during the press conference was built once again on distorted facts," it concluded.