Il-lokalità ta’ Birzebbuga, li hija milquta minn tniggis ta’ storbju li gej mill-Port Hieles, thalliet barra minn studju li sar dwar il-hsejjes u li l-Gvern Malti baghat lill-Kummissjoni Ewro-pea. Dan intqal ilbierah filghodu waqt konferenza stampa f’Birzebbuga.

L-ewroparlamentari Laburista Edward Scicluna, li kien qieghed jindirizza din il-konferenza, qal li din id-decizjoni tal-Gvern hija xhieda li r-residenti ta’ Birzebbuga qed ikunu ttrattati bhala cittadini tat-tielet dinja.

Ir-residenti ta’ Birzebbuga mistennija jitilfu l-opportunità li jinghataw kumpens ghall-istorbju kontinwu li johrog mill-Port Hieles, li jinsab ftit metri ‘l boghod minn blokok ta’ residenzi.

Izda f’mappa li nghatat mill-Gvern Malti lill-Kummissjoni Ewropea, Birzebbuga, li hija wahda mill-aktar lokalitajiet f’pajjizna milquta mit-tniggis ikkawzat mill-hsejjes, giet eskluza ghal kollox. Kienet l-ghaqda Birzebbugia Environ-mental Action li hadmet biex jibdew isiru dawn l-istudji.

Ir-realtà li kuljum ihabbtu wicchom maghha r-residenti ta’ Birzebbuga jinkludu tisbit ta’ containers, alarms ma jaqtghu xejn u hsejjes minn ingenji.

Fl-ahhar xhur, l-ewroparlamentari Laburista Edward Scicluna wassal numru kbir ta’ lmenti mir-residenti quddiem il-Kummissjoni Ewropea.

Min-naha taghhom, ir-residenti esprimew it-tama li l-Gvern jerga’ lura mid-decizjoni tieghu u jinkludi lil Birzebbuga bhala wahda miz-zoni f’pajjizna milquta minn dan it-tniggis.

kullhadd, 28 ta’ Jannar, 2012

– minn Sylvana Farrugia

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Birzebbuga excluded from Noise Directive remit

The efforts of Birżebbuġa residents may very well have helped spur efforts to draw up a noise map for Malta’s urban areas, but the town itself has been left out.

This exclusion, the Birżebbuġa Environmental Action Group (BEAG) argued in a press conference yesterday, makes it harder for residents to defend themselves against excessive noise pollution.

The reason for the group’s main complaint, as far as noise pollution is concerned, was clear from where the press conference was held: by the town’s sailing club. The club is just west of the Freeport, and a constant droning noise could be heard the whole time we were there, though residents who had gathered for the event remarked that the noise was often louder.

And noise levels are set to increase even further in the future, due to a planned extension of the Freeport. The extension would see ships dock just next to the sailing club, bringing activity – and noise – closer to the area’s residents.

The BEAG has lobbied MEP Edward Scicluna to help fight its case at EU level, and the MEP has filed a number of questions to the European Commission on its behalf.

The questions concerned the EU’s Environmental Noise Directive, which provides for urban agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants and which requires all member states to draw up strategic noise maps for agglomerations whose population exceeds 250,000.

Infringement proceedings were opened against Malta over its failure to draw up these noise maps, but these were closed last Thursday after Malta submitted them. The directive left it up to member states to define the area of urban agglomerations, and Malta drew up an agglomeration centred on the Grand Harbour, bounded by Mosta and Pembroke to the North, Attard and Żebbuġ to the west and by Għaxaq and Żejtun to the south.

Birżebbuġa has been left out of the equation, to the chagrin of the BEAG. In a reply to one of the Prof. Scicluna’s questions, the European Commission had said that “according to the Maltese authorities, Birżebbuġa has around 9,000 inhabitants, therefore the agglomeration does not fall within the scope of this directive”.

Group secretary John Grech observed that an urban agglomeration exceeding 100,000 – which could entitle residents to compensation under the directive in question – could easily be drawn up to include Birżebbuġa. Prof. Scicluna went one step further by pointing out that since Malta has a population of over 400,000 and a population density of over 1,300 people per square kilometre, it could be considered to be an urban area in its entirety.

The MEP said the directive excluded rural areas because they were not subject to heavy industry, and questioned why the government considered Birżebbuġa to be a rural area for the purpose of the directive.

Prof. Scicluna pointed out that in the noise map submitted, Malta technically complied with the directive, but Birżebbuġa was being treated as a second-class locality. The directive, he said, would have given residents greater bargaining power.

Compensation, for instance, could allow them to invest in double-glazing to reduce noise levels, he noted. While residents can still resort to the local courts in a bid to win compensation – and may be successful in this – their task would have been made easier if their hometown was included in the urban agglomeration.

The MEP said that the case might be closed as far as the EU is concerned, but Malta could still change its position and include Birżebbuġa in its urban agglomeration.

The Malta Independent: 29th January, 2012

– by John Cordina

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Birżebbuġa eskluża minn mappa dwar il-ħsejjes

Id-deċiżjoni tal-Gvern, li Birżebbuġa titħalla barra minn mappa dwar il-ħsejjes, turi li r-residenti ta’ Birżebbuġa huma trattati bħala ċittadini tat-tielet dinja u mhux parti mill-Unjoni Ewropea.
L-Ewro-Parlamentari Labu­rista l-Professur Edward Scicluna qal dan meta kien qiegħed jindirizza konferenza tal-aħbarijiet organizzata mill-Grupp ta’ Azzjoni nhar is-Sibt li għadda f’Wied il-Buni, Birżebbuġa.
Huwa żied jgħid li r-residen­ti ta’ Birżebbuġa se jitilfu l-opportunità li jingħataw il-poter tad-Direttiva tal-Unjoni Ewropea biex jinnegozjaw ma’ min qiegħed iniġġeż u jitolbu kumpens għall-istorbju kontinwu li huwa kkawżat mill-Port Ħieles, li qiegħed ftit metri ’l bogħod mill-bini residenzjali u kummerċjali.
Edward Scicluna spjega li hekk kif il-Gvern ġabar numru ta’ bliet u rħula mill-Belt Valletta sa Tas-Sliema u l-Kottonera fi grupp għalihom, hekk ukoll seta’ jiġbor minn Wied il-Għajn saż-Żurrieq bħala grupp ieħor urban. Il-Gvern seta’ wkoll jinkludi lil Malta u lil Għawdex bħala territorju wieħed għall-finijiet ta’ arja urbanizzata għall-fini tad-direttiva dwar il-ħsejjes.
Scicluna qal li f’mappa li ngħatat mill-Gvern Malti lill-Kummissjoni Ewropea, Birżeb­buġa, li hija waħda mill-aktar lokalitajiet f’pajjiżna milqutin mit-tniġġiż ikkawżat mill-ħsej­jes, ġiet eskluża għal kollox. Il-Gvern għadu kemm ippre­że­nta din il-mappa biex ikun konformi mad-direttiva tal-Unjoni Ewropea u b’hekk il-Kummissjoni waqqfet il-proċeduri legali kontra Malta.
Fi tweġibiet li ngħataw fil-Parlament Ewropew għall-mistoqsijiet tal-Professur Scicluna, il-Kummissjoni Ewropea qalet li l-popolazzjoni ta’ Birżebbuġa hija ta’ madwar  9,000 u b’hekk id-Direttiva ma tapplikax għall-ħsejjes ik­kawżati mill-industrija fil-lokalità. Id-Direttiva tistabbilixxi li l-ħsejjes għoljin ik­kaw­żati mis-sors iridu jaffettwaw mill-inqas 100,000 persuna.
Il-Grupp ta’ Azzjoni għall-Ambjent f’Birżebbuġa kien protagonist biex jibdew isiru dawn l-istudji.
Is-Segretarju tal-Gaqda, John Grech qal li r-realtajiet li r-residenti ta’ Bir­żebbuġa jħab­btu wiċċhom magħ­hom kul­jum jinkludu t-tisbit ta’ kontejners, ħsejjes ta’ alarms ma jaqtgħu xejn u ħsejjes oħra ġejjin minn ħafna inġenji.
Grech qal li fl-aħħar xhur, Edward Scicluna wassal numru ta’ ilmenti mir-residenti tal-lokalità ta’ Birżebbuġa qud­diem il-Kummissjoni Ewro­pea.
Min-naħa tagħhom, ir-residenti esprimew it-tama tagħ­hom li l-Gvern jerġa’ lura mid-deċiżjoni tiegħu u jinkludi lil Birżebbuġa bħala waħ­da miż-żoni f’pajjiżna mil­qutin minn dan it-tniġġiż.

– l-orizzont: 31 ta’ Jannar, 2012

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–  Video   –

The Birzebbuga Environmental Action Group was at the forefront for such studies to be initiated. The group´s secretary John Grech said that the reality was that Birzebbuga residents had to live daily with the sounds and problems that are brought about by the Freeport. Mr. Grech stated that in the last few months, MEP Edward Scicluna was the one who was bringing forward the complaints of the Birzebbuga residents to the European Commission. The residents expressed their hope that the Government would go back on its decision and include Birzebbuga as one of the zones most affected by noise pollution.

– one news, 28 January, 2012

–  Gallery  –

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Photography by Ian Pace – The Malta Independent on Sunday