THE Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the proposed waste-to- energy (WTE) plant in Batu Arang, Selangor, has not been rejected as perceived by concerned residents.
Project proponent KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir clarified that although a post by the Department of Environment (DOE) on its website stated that the EIA report was “not approved” it did not mean it has been rejected.
He added that DOE and the EIA technical review committee did not indicate any fundamental concerns regarding the project’s proposed design or location suitability.
“A significant portion of the ongoing process is related to the public consultation exercise that generated over 12,000 responses from various stakeholders,” he said in a statement last week.
“DOE has specifically requested for improvements in the documentation and tabulation of these submissions to ensure all public feedback is comprehensively recorded and appropriately evaluated.”
DOE website mentioned about the EIA report submissions made on Feb 9 this year, and April 22 and Oct 31 last year.
Ramli said the WTE project known as Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) Green Energy Plant, was a critical component of Selangor’s long-term strategy to modernise waste management and alleviate heavy reliance on increa- singly constrained landfill capacity.
“KDEBWM guarantees that development will only proceed upon full compliance with Malaysia’s strict environmental regulations and subject to final approval by DOE.
“Once operational, the facility will be governed by stringent emission control systems and continuous environmental monitoring standards to safeguard public health and the surrounding ecosystem.”
However, the statement did not sit well with a group of Batu Arang residents who continue to raise concerns about the project’s possible impact on their environment, safety and health.
Group representative Yap Wan Ken said calls for KDEBWM and Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to discuss the issue with residents had fallen on deaf ears.
“In terms of feedback collection during the EIA process, only those living within a 500m radius of the site were selected.
“I was excluded as my house is about 1km from the site,” she said when met at Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam after handing over a memorandum calling for the WTE plant project to be scrapped.
About 10 residents submitted the document to representatives of Amirudin, Selangor environment and public health committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin as well as local government and tourism committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim yesterday.
DOE had not responded to queries regarding the issue at press time.
