Pressure group: Rawang incinerator EIA just formality?

 

The Selangor government has been criticised after it was announced that the Kuala Langat waste incinerator project will commence in the middle of next year before the completion of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.

Rawang Tolak Incinerator Network (RTI) said the announcement from the state-appointed project management firm, reduced the need for an EIA to a mere formality and a facade.

"The Selangor state government is essentially acting recklessly, disregarding and ignoring the people's protests," the pressure group said in a statement.

RTI was responding to a SelangorKini report which cited KDEB Waste Management managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir stating that the construction of the incinerator would begin next June with the first phase expected to be completed within 36 months.

Ramli revealed that YTL Power Generation International Bhd had been selected as the partner for the first phase.

The incinerator was part of the Sultan Idris Shah Green Energy (Sisge) Plant announced by Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari during his Budget 2024 speech.

"Details of the the first phase of the project will be made known to the public through a transparent EIA process which is expected to be completed by the end of this year," he said.

Will public get a say?

Under the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 2015, "thermal treatment plants" for waste were listed under the second schedule which made EIA reports mandatory.

Once it is published, the public has 30 days to study the document and submit feedback. A technical committee will then study the report and feedback before deciding whether to accept or reject the report.

According to RTI, Ramli had told them during a dialogue that if the EIA was rejected, the project would be scrapped.

Now that Ramli had publicly stated when the construction will begin, RTI urged the state government to come clean on whether the locals will have any say in the project.

"We once again urge the Selangor government to avoid operating in secrecy and prioritise the health and well-being of the people," it stressed. - Mkini