Environmental Impact Assessments

EIAs represent IRMCo's main service to its client base in the Maltese Islands.  See also Services - EIA's for the typical requirements of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Assessments carried out by IRMCo to date include a very wide selection of animal husbandry development applications dealing with the construction of new or extension of existing layer hen, broiler, pig, rabbit and turkey farms, as well as for the construction of horse stables.

EIA's for infrastructural and industrial development applications have been submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in relation to the construction of a concrete batching plant, the extension of a bitumen plant and the construction of a parking facility for a major car dealer.  Submissions relevant to the tourism sector have included a proposed golf course.

Each of these assessments have been guided by the 'Handbook on the implementation of EC Environmental Legislation'.  In particular, this concerns the rigorous and systematic application of the 'Best Practicable Environmental Option' in order to identify and evaluate between different options (technical, environmental, organisational, economic etc.) to achieve the objectives of the proposed development.

Following the adoption of the Malta Structure Plan, IRMCo was commissioned by the Planning Authority (now MEPA) to undertake a number of Local Plan Studies. 

Starting with a Geological and Geomorphological Survey for the Marsaxlokk Local Plan; IRMCo was entrusted with the preparation of both a Water Conservation Plan and a Geological Conservation Plan for the Malta North-West Local Plan.

In addition to the local environmental policy framework and the relevant EU directives, these Local Plan studies were guided by the conservation schemes developed by English Heritage on geology and by the UK Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAFF) in relation to water.

Surveys of the different environmental resources were organized according to a standardized format.  During a first stage, all areas were identified which were considered to be under immediate threat of damage.  The detailed extent, quality and characteristics of the geological and water resources were then mapped during a second stage.  Recommendations for the long-term conservation of these resources were the objective of a third and final stage.

Evidently, field surveys form an integral part of Local Plan studies.  In some cases however, specific local surveys are commissioned by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, e.g. as a preliminary stage before issuing the Terms of Reference for a full Environmental Impact Assessment. 

Recently, IRMCo conducted a series of underground surveys at Ghar il-Friefet, a cave in the limits of Birzebuggia, about 300 meters south of the well-known Ghar Dalam (Cave of Darkness).  The ecological, geological and geomorphological features of the cave were documented both by photographs and on maps.   A detailed survey of the geometry of the cave enabled the construction of a 3-dimensional model of the cave complex.

Between 1997 and 2000, a series of surveys was conducted by IRMCo to map the different environmental resources for the island of Gozo in the framework of the EU-sponsored ResManMed Project.  The extensive exercise documented the island's water and hydrological features, landuse, vegetation and soil cover, ecosystems, geological and geomorphological characteristics, cultural heritage assets together with surveys of local industries, tourist and recreational amenities.

Since its establishment in 1994, IRMCo has continuously been involved in environmental research and development projects sponsored by the European Commission, centred around one or a combination of the following themes:

- Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

- Geological Heritage Conservation (GeoHeritage)

- Risk management and Disaster Prevention

In many of these projects, the focus is on the special characteristics and hence specific requirements when dealing with environmental resource protection and conservation in karst areas or regions.

The term karst is used to describe a landscape in general or specific features found either at the surface or underground, which have been shaped as a result of dissolution of carbonate limestone due to infiltration and deeper percolation of rainwater.   The entire Maltese Islands are made up of carbonate limestone and several spectacular karst features can be found, such as the Blue Grotto - a natural arch marking the entrance to a cave system - and a dramatic sinkhole known as il-Maqluba.