MEPA removes 350 tons of construction waste in Gozo

MEPA's Enforcement Directorate promptly intervened to ensure that over 350 tons of illegally dumped material in two of Gozo's pristine valleys was removed by the respective contraveners.   

Earlier this year, following a tip-off, MEPA officers had caught red-handed, two persons who had illegally started dumping truck loads of construction material next to the watercourse of il-Wied Ta' Xhajma in Nadur, Gozo.

A similar incidence took place right across and over the watercourse of Il-Wied tar-Ramla l-Hamra, in an area that is blocked off to the public, and about which MEPA was alerted by the Gaia Foundation who is managing this sensitive bay area.

Following the Enforcement Directorate's investigations, the parties responsible were identified in both cases and held accountable for the illegal works.

In the Wied Ta' Xhajma case, the police were informed by MEPA and asked to take action from their part, and MEPA furthermore imposed a daily fine on the contravention. In the Wied tar-Ramla l-Hamra case, the affected parties immediately removed the dumped material. In fact, in both cases, the Authority also compelled the contraveners to remove the inert material they dumped and reinstate site levels and fully re-pristine the area under MEPA's supervision.

In both incidents, the large amounts of dumping were illegal attempts to facilitate access to land on the opposite side of the valley by dumping right across. Had the attempts materialized, the dumping would have effectively dammed the watercourse resulting in flooding of environs, carrying away of agricultural soil and degradation of the water course when the dumped volumes of inert material would have been washed downstream.

MEPA Enforcement efforts to have the dumped material along these watercourses removed prior to the onset of the rainy season paid off since both sites were cleared.  Approximately140 tonnes of material were removed from Il-Wied ta' Xhajma and 230 tonnes from Il-Wied tar-Ramla l-Hamra, where the dumping across this sensitive watercourse had reached heights of nearly 3 metres.