Today I would like to touch upon a hot topic regarding our local environment. You will have heard or read about in the local papers, the issue of sewage contamination off Western Beach, resulting in the inevitable but necessary closure of this popular recreational area for local citizens.

Others immediately affected have been the sailing club, canoeists, etc, all who relish the sheltered nature of the waters off Western Beach for their sport and relaxation.

Clearly there are many issues at stake here. Not least the real threat to public health posed by the extreme levels of faecal matter being dumped unceremoniously into our waters – in this case the calm harbour factor amplifying the impact of this contamination.

So, what can we do about it? Citizens strongly supported by the ESG, FOE Gib, and the GONHS are doing what they can do by way of organising protests and petitions. This display of civic anger at this development and loss of land and sea use is essential to create public pressure for authorities on both sides of the border to deal with this mess.

As described by MEP Graham Watson, the mess likely originates from La Linea but it is a cross border problem and we need to tackle this in that spirit.

We should also accept that all Bay towns are currently in breach of failing to meet Directive 91/271/EEC dated 1993 with objectives of treating sewage waste for populations over a certain size. ALMOST ALL BAY TOWNS qualify for such treatment and almost all of us are in breach – ie breaking the law!!

In the Tripartite Process, the Environmental NGO’s include the need for urgent compliance with sewage treatment as the problem is much wider than Western Beach- throughout Europe, there are numerous examples of such non-compliance which really makes you wonder about the viability of the Commission Process itself???? Where is enforcement?

What we know we need to do is deal with the immediate crisis and use this opportunity to ensure that Spain and Gibraltar invest in adequate sewage treatment facilities that will avoid releasing such overflow into communal and recreational zones. Lord knows Gibraltar is small enough as it is without our being further restricted from safely using some of our land or sea areas. For Western Beach the outflow should be stopped at once- and, if as suspected, it is La Linea responsible, it must be made to divert sewage into Spanish open waters as an urgent priority-

The ESG is currently compiling a dossier with information on this issue and intends to make this available to the Tripartite Forum as well as the MEP’s representing Gibraltar in Europe.

Meanwhile what you can do if interested is sign our online petition at: : http://www.petitions.com/petition/no_to_sewage_at_sea/

We also call upon you to forward this link to your friends and colleagues- kindly note we shall also be collecting signatures in Main Street and Morrison’s Supermarket during the next few weeks.

A second protest is already being organised for the 20th November which is a Saturday at 10.00am- we hope you will come along and show your support. Call ESG on 54960000 or Beach Users on 56800000 if you have any questions on this issue.

Follow this link if you want to know what levels of contamination are present at western Beach: http://www.environmental-agency.gi/beachresult.php?beachid=6

PLEASE NOTE Signature collections continue today Tuesday 9th november from 1.00pm onwards outside Morrison’s

An online petition has been set up to collect signatures over the new sewage contamination off Western Beach- This pollution has led to the recent closure of this lovely beach which is also used during the winter for picnics etc. The MoD Sailing Club has also closed and canoeists and paddlers have advised the ESG that its impossible to enjoy their sport in this part of Gibraltars coastline-

If it was only about recreation you would think it was a storm in a tea cup- BUT! the levels of fecal matter picked up by sampling by the Environmental Agency at a public beach are so high that it demands that action has to be taken. The cross border nature of this issue of course presents additional problems. The wider situation seems to indicate that la Linea is unable to cope with its sewage disposal and management and clearly needs to add capacity to its treatment of sewage.

Sewage discharge from the Spanish town is also taking place on the eastern side (evidence of this available on LaLineaDigital online) and this raw effluence presents a serious risk to public health.

The ESG will lend support to the campaigners to try and find a solution to this specific issue- We also consider it critical that all the towns in the Bay, including Gibraltar, comply with Directive Requirements on Sewage treatment and set up proper facilities without further delay.

Go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no_to_sewage_at_sea/

ESG Press Release 15th October 2010

ESG STAGGERED BY OESCO NEWS

It’s absolutely staggering that we are informed via the local press that we, as citizens, are now facing increased air and noise pollution as well as a hike in personal costs with regards to electricity production in Gibraltar. The ESG considers this development as an outrage, especially as no investment in environmental protection has been mentioned and the operator should be expected to bear at least part of the increased costs of production out of its operating profits and not just pass it on to the consumer.

For readers who may not know, it seems that the predicted increase in energy demand, which has been common knowledge for years, cannot be met by existing, highly polluting generation and requires another short-term measure of additional capacity using an increasingly expensive fuel- Guess what? Costs both in the pocket, health and quality of life are to be borne by us, the citizen. Word in the community is that we could be facing power cuts – is this supposed to pave the way for additional capacity and the extra pollution and costs to be suffered by the taxpayer?

All of this has been forecast by the ESG, and the urgency for the replacement power station, albeit using old technology, never more apparent than it is today. In 2007 aging industries and practices were to be finally called in under European Law, due to the deadline of the IPPC having arrived. What happened then was that Gibraltar went through the motions of assessing OESCO, as the relevant installation, for necessary compliance to be given a new operating licence. The assessment was fairly damning though and advised that a licence would be issued conditional to various measures being met.

The conditions with regards to air emissions in particular were never addressed- indeed the ESG was instead given platitudes by Government that with a new power station round the corner, in 2010, it was unreasonable of us to expect either Government or OESCO to fork out for mitigation measures (to clean their act up basically). We were fed assurances that the new Power Station would receive maximum urgency by this Govt.

Apart from a fumbling judicial review which may have delayed the process for a while, and also ended up costing taxpayers serious monies (we have no details) construction of the replacement plant has not begun in earnest. The ESG asks what is going on?

The community of Gibraltar deserves better. The ESG demands that Government gives a public statement on exactly what is going on with our energy production and plans for replacement power station and show in this way that it is accountable to the people of Gibraltar.

We also demand that in this latest expansion to electricity capacity at OESCO that the plant is also made to comply with its IPPC certification which it is not currently doing and ask whether a separate certification will be issued. We also ask that OESCO or whichever company ends up operating the plant should meet the costs of pollution control and at least part of the increase (no doubt from time to time) of operating costs.

ESG Radio Newsletter Thursday 14th October 2010

On the cards today are topical issues on the environment which I know many of you follow and are deeply interested in-

The first is our

power generation stations and renewable energy

– where are we going with this in Gibraltar? Last nights Newswatch reported that Govt is now contemplating harnessing wind power as the best option to meet the renewable energy target under EU law, but this to happen some years ahead. For some time now we had understood we needed to meet a percentage imminently – has this changed? Or are we changing plans once again?

Furthermore, it was regrettable to hear that Govt was not prepared to discuss this issue in public, ie end of story. This is not acceptable. Modern communities, democracies and indeed Freedom of Access to Environmental Information under EU law, demands that any project, plan or activity which has a direct impact on the environment and hence on the citizen, has to be transparent and publicly shared.

We go further and remind Government that climate change is a critical issue which demands cross party unity and community support and co-operation if we are to successfully meet the challenges ahead- the community therefore needs to be part of the solution and decision making process and should be carefully informed about the intentions of how our authorities plan to steer us towards a cleaner and more responsible future.

What the message given yesterday suggests is that the present Government has no real intention of acting on renewable energy systems for Gibraltar in the foreseeable future and this is reprehensible. Postponement of such action will place the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of our grandchildren who currently look up to us as their protectors. We are not meeting their expectations rather, continuing in the business as usual mode which is not where we should be.

On the question of power stations and additional engines and fuel costs- this has absolutely floored us, we cannot believe this latest development and will be releasing a statement outlining our thoughts and position on this tomorrow.

This last fortnight the ESG received calls and emails from members of the public affected by various activities around the Rock- These complaints are not made lightly and people are usually extremely agitated and upset at the time. Calls are usually about power station fumes, bunkering fumes, sewage smells, noise pollution from 24hr activity etc.

While we attempt to help the callers by providing information or advising who they should contact, the extent and variety of these problems remind us of the fact that Gibraltar is still waiting for an Action Plan on the Environmental Charter signed by the Gibraltar Government several years ago, which would set out rules and timelines to rein in heavily impacting activities that affect our peace of mind, health and quality of life. Yes, it matters to us all.

Without such a plan we shall continue to see all these activities grow without adequate restrictions in place- just look at our power stations for example. It must be said that bunkering fumes and noise must also be tackled by our authorities- we refer complainants every week to the Port Authority and Environment Agency- truth is not sufficient feedback is received and no real action taken suggesting that more radical steps are needed. In fact, the only radical news we get is that bunkering industry is to increase!! But where, we ask, are the efforts to reduce environmental impacts from this activity?

Finally, let’s talk sewage– again on Newswatch last night, the fact that Western Beach is now closed due to sewage pollution which we warned would happen back in April-

This flagrant breach of public health and environmental laws at a cross border level by the Spaniards has to be challenged by our authorities. And if not by citizens. The ESG is hoping to meet with the Chief Minister soon who has assumed responsibility for this issue- and we will then decide how to approach this problem.

More news soon- thanks for listening-

www.esg-gib.net esg@gibtelecom.net

Call us on 200-48996 Mobile 54960000

ESG Radio Newsletter Thursday 30th September 2010

Our last fantastic Clean up seems like such a long time ago now!! What a great effort by so many of you supporting an inspiring and active effort at giving something back to our environment. You may be surprised to know that a few teams want to do more areas soon! It’s very rewarding to transform areas trashed by the thoughtless especially when these areas should be home to nature’s creatures and with this years CUTW theme being Communities Caring for Nature, what better way than focusing our efforts in this way.

It’s fairly well known now that the Gib Government is responding to our campaign and has pledged to maintain over 30 such green areas from now on- we are obviously delighted about this.

It still remains a big issue for many of us though that our community should be educated to not littering and dumping in the first place and our campaign focus will seek to tackle the problem more at the source than simply cleaning up each year.

Watch out for more news soon on how we intend to go about it.

Other environmental news, well as always, there’s quite a lot going on. With a possible new management authority for our Upper Rock Nature Reserve, to possible expansion of bunkering on the Eastside, issues for the ESG keep cropping up – such as the dropping of the judicial review by Clifftop residents against the proposed new Power Station- this created additional delays to an already critically needed facility – and so good news the legal challenge has been stopped but the ESG regrets the delays and the manner in which Clifftop residents managed to delay the project and then get their legal costs covered by the taxpayer as well as assurances from Govt that noise levels etc. would be controlled.
As we have said in our press release today, to the many thousands of local residents severely affected by the pollution from our aging and illegal stations, this offers little solace. We urge Govt to simply move ahead and

prioritise the new power station now.

One important word on bunkering fumes- the ESG has managed to acquire a 24hr contact number to be called by anyone suffering from what is suspected to be a bunkering fume issue- we urge people to use the number as the port has repeatedly told us that their follow up is only as good as their being able to investigate the problem at the time it is occurring- the number to call is : 56000545 repeat-

ESG Press Release Friday 1st October 2010

SWIMMING IN RAW SEWAGE AT WESTERN BEACH

It has been brought to the ESG’s attention that sewage contamination at Western Beach has once again risen to alarming levels -(See below Env Agency Website Sample Results) – Members of the public were commenting to the ESG that the current situation was far worse this week than anything experienced during the summer – they could even smell faeces on their skin on exiting the water!
This shocking experience is backed up by levels of Coliforms and E.Coli present in the water at far higher levels than ever recorded before – 54,000 and 10,000 parts per 100ml respectively on the 27th September and lesser so on the following days- The group wishes to state that:
1. While the Environment Agency’s website advises mandatory and guideline levels for these contaminants its clear that the levels of faecal matter at Western Beach have this week risen to levels which are potentially very harmful to humans
2. Given the situation and the fact that people swim well past the “bathing season”, it is absolutely incumbent upon our authorities to urgently close off Western Beach to swimming and any other recreational activity
3. We suspect the source to be a new outflow on the Spanish side of the border although other possible sources have been mentioned. Regardless of the source it is also for Govt to advise of its plan on how it intends to tackle the sewage contamination and act on it.
4. ESG urges the community to stop using Western Beach until the source of the sewage pollution is identified and eliminated.

Thank you
ESG Committee

ESG Press Release 30th September 2010

The ESG would like to react to news that the Gibraltar Government has settled the question of a judicial review by Clifftop residents against the new Power Station Project in Lathbury area.

Our group has campaigned for several years now over the need for action on the existing highly polluting power stations in Gibraltar and the legal move by Clifftop, which resulted in further considerable delays to the replacement plant ,was seen as a serious setback.

It is fairly well known that the pollution from existing plants is regarded as illegal both in terms of air and noise emission levels. Their combined impact is significant and affects a large number of local residents and has done for years. Yet, after extensive lobbying, Ombudsman investigation, petitions and even legal attempts by local residents, the Gibraltar Government licensed these stations above and beyond what they can safely produce with the promise that they would be shut down and a replacement station, fully compliant with all environmental and health requirements, built with minimal delay.
Delays were evident, even before the Clifftop Review and this has caused no end of frustration to the ESG and for many residents.
So, yes, we welcome the fact that this setback is now sorted out but regret the influence that money has clearly had on Govt action on Environmental matters, something that public pressure from ordinary people has failed to achieve. It is also shameful that Clifftop, which should never have been built there, should get assurances and their legal costs paid by the taxpayer, whilst thousands of Gibraltar residents have had to continue to endure years of pollution levels (noise and emissions) without government being concerned in the slightest.
So, now, please Government- get the station built!

CUTW BrochureESG Press Release on CUTW Gibraltar 2010

The ESG would like to thank the many volunteers who helped clean up Gibraltar on the 19th & 20th September claiming the campaign to be a great success in meeting its objectives of RAISING AWARENESS as well as helping bring about Government action.

CUTW Gibraltar 2010 saw the weekend launch with a well supported, energetic and colourful Green Parade and Exhibition where models made from waste and other colourful and informative displays regaled the John Mackintosh Square.
Environmental Awards were again presented this year by Olga Zammit to St Anne’s School and to Chelsea Edwards for their outstanding contribution to environmental issues.

Around 500 volunteers collected hundreds of bags of rubbish between them as well as the usual timber and assortment of electronic and white goods from green and coastal areas. (See our symbolic pile once again). Divers and abseilers got busy and youngsters worked hard using ropes to access awkward areas. Planting projects got underway as well as the removal of invasive plants.

CUTW organisers hope that increased awareness by these actions can help our community become cleaner and more environmentally responsible. The announcement by the Gibraltar Government that it would tend to the hotspot areas as highlighted under the CUTW Campaign from now on was really uplifting to our troops and we hope to see a major improvement in these areas.

We also urge the authorities and relevant agencies to simultaneously begin enforcement exercises of existing litter laws to help change the littering culture that pervades our community. Until such actions are taken, we know these problems will persist. The ESG and volunteers also believe that a 24/7 modern waste facility for Gibraltar is long overdue and space must be found for such an important amenity.

Signage, sustained campaigns and active development of recycling initiatives will also help educate us towards becoming better informed and responsible citizens of the planet! All these points and more are contained in a brand new leaflet launched this year for the CUTW Campaign. The colourful leaflet contains a flavour of what we do each year and what needs to be done to address the waste problem. (See attached). This will be widely distributed throughout Gibraltar over the next 12 months.
Strongly believing in the value of the CUTW campaign and how it enables people to do something positive for their homeland, the ESG hopes to organise future projects to include a different focus on education/prevention and conservation as well as the inevitable clean up of hotspot sites as necessary.

Once again thanks to the local community for getting enthusiastically behind this important campaign and showing that Gibraltar, even in this, our sixth CUTW participation, cares enough about our environment to do something for it!

Thanks to our Sponsors:
Bonita Trust, Hassan’s, Partygaming, GBC Open Day Trust, Deloitte, NatWest, We Care, Master Services, Interbuild, Morrison’s, 101 ltd

Please make a note of the following number which I am now reliably told by the port will pick up on a 24hr basis and receive your genuine report on bunkering fumes  in Gibraltar.

Its important that you call the number while the pollutionis taking place so there is a better chance of identifying the culprit-

NUMBER IS: 56000545

KIND REGARDS

ESG Committee

“The ESG wishes to remind team leaders and 1st time volunteers that their presence is required at the 2nd CUTW 2010 planning meeting taking place Friday 3rd September. Location for this meeting has been changed to John Mackintosh Hall, Lecture Room and will take place as from 8pm onwards. It is important for team leaders in particular to attend as site allocation and timings will be discussed. Its also important for volunteers to let organisers know if they will accept an invitation to a thank you party held at the Alameda Open Air Theatre on Sunday 19th between 3 and 6pm.

The ESG wishes to take this opportunity to thank all volunteers and sponsors for their considerable support to date and look forward to an exciting and inspiring weekend together.
Remember you can still sign up as a team or individual:
email us on: esg@gibtelecom.net Call: 200-43156, 48996, Mobile 54960000”