Jelutong landfill project not scrapped despite EIA rejection

 H’ng Mooi Lye says the project is important because the old landfill poses longstanding safety and pollution problems.

Penang exco member H’ng Mooi Lye said gazetting Middle Bank as a marine sanctuary and environmentally sensitive area now could create legal problems and affect several nearby projects. (Facebook pic)

GEORGE TOWN:

The Jelutong landfill rehabilitation project has not been scrapped despite the rejection of its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, said Penang local government, town and country planning committee chairman H’ng Mooi Lye.

H’ng said the rejection was not final while the state government considered the project important because the old landfill had longstanding safety and pollution problems, including fire risks, gas emissions, leachate and unstable ground.

“The report needs to be improved to comply with the technical comments raised by the department,” he said  in the state assembly today.

He said any extension for the project would also require the approval of the state executive council.

The Jelutong landfill has been closed for years but remains a source of concern because of buried waste, leachate and possible gas emissions.

The project is meant to remove or treat the waste and stabilise the site for future use.

However, residents and green groups have opposed the project’s reclamation component, saying it could affect the nearby Middle Bank seagrass bed and marine ecosystem.

The Protect Karpal Singh Drive action group also urged the state government to explain how reclamation became part of the project and called for that component to be scrapped.

Opposition leader Fauzi Yusoff (PN-Sungai Dua) warned that open rehabilitation work could release toxic material buried at the site, pointing out that about 90,000 people live nearby.

H’ng said the state government understood these concerns, including worries over methane gas, and that the environment department has the final say on the method used for the landfill’s rehabilitation.

Gazetting Middle Bank could create legal problems

H’ng also said gazetting Middle Bank as a marine sanctuary and environmentally sensitive area now could create legal problems and affect several nearby projects.

He said it could disrupt the Jelutong project, port development, an IJM Corporation Bhd development and Penang World City, all of which he said were within 500m of the area.

He said the state government recognised the importance of Middle Bank, but any gazettement must be done carefully, taking into account nearby major projects and existing contracts.

The core area of Middle Bank would remain protected, while nearby developments would be subject to strict conditions. - FMT