MRA re-iterates borehole drilling moratorium

Asked by MaltaToday as to why the MRA felt the need to issue this statement to re-iterate the moratorium once it was still in force, a spokesperson for the MRA said: “We just felt the need to remind the general public about the matter.

The MRA spokesperson told MaltaToday this morning that there had not been any recent cases of illegal borehole drilling that had spurred the Authority to issue this reminder.

In a two-paragraph statement issued this morning the MRA reminded the general public “that the moratorium on the drilling of boreholes, as established by Legal Notice 254 of 2008, is still in force”.

 “Thus the drilling of boreholes or any form of excavation works connected with boreholes is strictly prohibited,” the MRA insisted.

The Authority warned that in case of infringements, the regulations provided for “hefty fines and/or imprisonment as well as the confiscation of equipment used for the drilling of boreholes or for carrying out the excavation works”.

The moratorium on borehole drilling was announced during a press conference by Resources and Rural Affairs’ Minister George Pullicino on 07 October 2008.

While anyone drilling new boreholes was be liable to a maximum €68,600 fine for failing to register and for breaching the moratorium, it was business as usual for those who had now registered their boreholes

It was also be business as usual for the 6,000 borehole users who had their illegal activity registered in 1997 under the Sant administration and were not be required to register again.

Still, Pullicino had made it clear that registration does not entail the legalisation of boreholes which were registered.

“One should not interpret the notification of boreholes as an automatic right to extract water… The aim of this exercise is not that of issuing permits for borehole users but to give us a full picture.”

But Pullicino had promised that by the beginning of 2009, the government will be issuing a public consultation document aimed at ensuring the sustainability of Malta’s underground water resources. However the much-awaited water policy was only issued last month, one and a half years late.

He did not exclude that charges on extraction from boreholes will be introduced at that stage.

According to Pullicino, 16 million cubic metres of underground water were used by farmers while 3 million cubic metres were used for tourist, industrial and domestic purposes.