Murky matter: DOE officials collecting samples from stagnant puddles on a plot of land in Chuah, Negri Sembilan.
PORT DICKSON: Residents in Chuah, near here, have complained about a pitch-black liquid, suspected to be oil, in a river, prompting Environment Department (DOE) officials to collect samples for testing.
State climate change committee chairman S. Veerapan said a DOE team was immediately dispatched to the scene on Sunday after receiving a complaint via its eAduan system.
The complainants, according to Veerapan, saw the spill near a land scheme in Chuah, and it flowed all the way to the Gate B tide control gate.
“The residents claimed the flow was extremely black, and they believed it was oil.
“The DOE team took samples from stagnant puddles on a plot of land, the river, drainage and contaminated soil to establish what the black liquid was,” he said in a statement.
Veerapan, who also holds the state entrepreneurship, human resources, cooperatives and consumerism portfolio, said the samples have been sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis.
The DOE will continue to monitor the situation, including using a drone to check activities in the surrounding areas.
According to Veerapan, the DOE will also issue notices under Sections 31 and 37 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 once it identifies the owner of the land where the black liquid was found.
Section 31, among others, requires the landowner to dispose of environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or wastes.
Under Section 37, the landowner must furnish information on the use of raw materials, environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or waste on their property and any risk that is likely to result from this.
“I would also like to emphasise that environmental management is a shared responsibility, and inefficiency in managing it will have a negative impact on everyone,” he said, adding that stern action will be taken against those responsible for polluting the environment.
