Herrera meets environment commissioner: ERA, fish farms on the agenda

Environment minister Jose Herrera on Monday met the commissioner for environment and planning, David Pace, to discuss claims the latter made last week regarding the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA).

In his letter to Herrera and parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri, Pace called on the government to strengthen the ERA, saying that at present, the newly-created ERA was “powerless, toothless and of no influence.”

In a subsequent statement, Herrera had said that while the authority was still in its infancy and that improvements could be made, he did not agree that ERA was toothless or that its opinion was not sought or valued.

In their meeting on Monday, the two discussed the ERA and a number of other issues, including fish farms and the new Commission for Sound Pollution.

Pace also presented Herrera a copy of a document, entitled “Access to countryside: The right to ramble”, published by the environment commissioner’s office.