S.L. 549.50 Art. 13Prevention of water status deterioration, air and soil pollution. S.L. 423.20 S.L. 549.10 S.L. 423.16 S.L. 423.20

(1) The operator shall take the necessary measures in order to meet Community or Maltese environmental standards, in particular to prevent, in accordance with the Water Policy

Framework Regulations, the deterioration of current water status, by: inter alia,

(a) evaluating the leachate generation potential, including contaminant content of the leachate, of the deposited waste during both the operational and after-closure phase of the waste facility, and determining the water balance of the waste facility;

(b) preventing or minimising leachate generation and surface water or groundwater and soil from being contaminated by the waste; and

(c) collecting and treating contaminated water and leachate from the waste facility to the appropriate standard required for their discharge.

(2) The operator shall take adequate measures to prevent or reduce dust and gas emissions.

(3) On the basis of an assessment of environmental risks, when taking into account, in particular, the Pollution Caused by Certain Dangerous Substances discharged into the Aquatic Environment Regulations, the Protection of Groundwater against Pollution caused by Certain Dangerous Substances Regulations, or the Water Policy Framework Regulations, as applicable, the competent authority has decided that collection and treatment of leachate is not necessary or it has been established that the waste facility poses no potential hazard to soil, groundwater or surface water, the requirements set out in sub-regulation (1)(b) and (c) may be reduced or waived accordingly.

(4) In the case of a pond involving the presence of cyanide, the operator shall ensure that the concentration of weak acid dissociable cyanide in the pond is reduced to the lowest possible level using best available techniques and, in any case, at waste facilities which have previously been granted a permit or have already been in operation on 1 May 2008 that the concentration of weak acid dissociable cyanide at the point of discharge of the tailings from the processing plant into the pond does not exceed 50 ppm as from 1 May 2008, 25 ppm as from 1 May 2013, 10 ppm as from 1 May 2018 and 10 ppm at waste facilities which are granted a permit after 1 May 2008: Provided that, if the competent authority so requests, the operator shall demonstrate, through a risk assessment that takes site-specific conditions into account, that those concentration limits need not be further lowered.