De Lille in Mossel Bay as ultimatum expires
10-05-2007 ...today is day 7
ID President Patricia de Lille will host a public meeting in
Mossel Bay today, the final day in the 7-day ultimatum issued to the
owner of an arsenic-emitting Creosoet factory.
Sent to the owner by the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism after the ID’s intervention, the ultimatum demands that he show
proof that he has a permit to operate the factory.
‘This evening I will discuss the way forward with residents of the
two affected communities, if the owner doesn’t cooperate,’ Ms De Lille
says.
The ID two weeks ago made a breakthrough in the case of the
Outeniqua Creosoet Poles factory, a wood treating plant whose poisonous
emissions have had a terrible impact on the health of residents of
Tergniet and Rheebok, outside Mossel Bay.
Residents approached De Lille after complaints they had lodged
with local, provincial and national government came to nothing.
The saga has been going on for years - in 2002, an environmental
impact study commissioned by the Western Cape Government advised that
the plant be moved - alternative land was offered to the owner.
‘Since then, the owner has refused to move to the alternative
land. The last agreement was that he should move by the end of 2006,
but in January 2007, he increased his plant’s production and the
pollution became even more unbearable for the two communities,’ De
Lille says.
At the behest of De Lille two weeks ago, the National Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism sent Mr Mazwi Lushaba, a Director
of Air Quality Management from Pretoria, to meet with her.
This led to the Department’s issuing of the 7-day ultimatum.
Tonight’s meeting will be held at the Rheebok Community Hall in
the Great Brak area at 19H00.
Released by ID President Patricia de Lille – 084 777
2065
