KOTA KINABALU: Villagers want a review of a recently approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a quarry in Telipok, amid fears it could lead to the site's revival.
The quarry has been inactive since its licence expired in 2019. Previous attempts to restart operations were blocked as the EIA was rejected twice, in March 2022 and January 2023.
However, the latest EIA application, submitted by the same project owner and consultant, was unexpectedly approved in July this year, 11 months after the terms of reference were accepted, sparking shock and concern among residents of Kampung Tampulan, Timbok, and Binoung.
They claim they were not consulted about the potential revival of the quarry, which is among the crucial steps they believe were overlooked in the EIA process.
“Neglecting to engage nearby residents compromises the fairness and transparency of the EIA process.
“Such inconsistencies undermine its credibility and raise serious questions about the decision to allow these operations to resume,” said Tom Chin, who operates Kebun Atuk Farmstay, some 450m from the quarry.
Since the quarry’s inactivity, the area has transitioned from mining to agriculture and residential development, with locals investing in homes, farms, and community facilities.
Like many other villagers who have made permanent investments in the area, Chin built a home for his family just 380m from the quarry site.
Chin fears that renewed quarry operations will reverse this progress and jeopardise these investments.
He said that the past quarry activities have already caused significant environmental damage, including drying out a key waterfall that once provided vital water to the villages.
“A recent photograph taken in August starkly illustrates this decline, a once vital waterfall that supplied gravity-fed water to the three villages has now dried up.
“This visual evidence highlights ongoing environmental degradation and underscores the risks of allowing quarry and mill operations to resume,” he stressed.
Chin added that the severe negative impacts that previous quarry and aggregate mill operations have inflicted on the local environment and community.
These include extensive damage to agriculture, degradation of water quality, and increased dust and noise pollution, all of which have directly harmed the health and livelihoods of locals.
“The potential resumption of these activities poses a serious risk to both the environment and the community’s well-being,” he said.
The state Environment Protection Department has been contacted for comments.
