Debate No. 06 of 20.04.04
Camp Chapelon - St Louis Power Station

(No. B/254) Dr. J. B. David (Fourth Member for GRNW and Port Louis West) asked the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit whether in regard to the CEB St Louis power station in Camp Chapelon, he will state -

if any sanction has been taken against the CEB for having contravened the environmental law and, if not, why not and, if so, will he list them;

whether on 15 April 2004 there has been a stack monitoring and, if so, whether his Ministry has received the results of any analysis concerning particular emissions and sulphur dioxide, and
whether noise abatement measures have been taken and, if so, what have been the results thereof.

Mr Bhagwan: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Central Electricity Board supplies 478 MW from the national grid out of which 48 MW is supplied by Saint Louis Power Station which is situated at Pailles near Plaine Lauzun at the southern entry to Port Louis. Saint Louis Power Station was the first diesel power station commissioned by CEB in October 1955. The first 1.5 MW Mirrlees KV SS 12 engine firing on Light Fuel Oil (LFO) was operating by the end of 1955. A further seven similar engines were commissioned with the last one put in service in July 1962. All the Mirrlees engines at St Louis have now been dismantled. The old Mirrlees engine hall has been earmarked for the installation of new generating units at St Louis Power Station.

From 1978 to 1981, six 11 MW Pielstick PC 3 units firing heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) were commissioned at St Louis Power Station. These units have accumulated an average of 125,000 running hours and have been derated to 8.0 MW on account of old age. St Louis is actually operating 6 diesel engines of 8 MW each.

Following complaints received, several site visits have been effected by officers of my Ministry and noise measurements effected on 24 November and 04 December 2003. These have revealed that noise standards were being exceeded.

Subsequently, an Enforcement notice was issued to CEB on 15 March 2004 requesting the latter to -

take necessary measures so as to comply with the noise regulations for industries and submit technical information of noise abatement measures for the engine room and the cooling towers to this Ministry;

stop discharge of oil in nearby Stateland situated at the back of St Louis Power Station;
abide by air standards;

perform stack monitoring at least 2 times per year (15 April 2004 & 15 October 2004 respectively) and submit the results of analysis to this Ministry, in particular, for particulate emissions and sulphur dioxide.

As per the Enforcement Notice, a delay of two months has been given to CEB to implement the above measures.

In a letter dated 29 march 2004, the General Manager of the CEB has informed my Ministry that –

the old generating units may be exceeding stack emissions standards and that it will not be cost effective to take abatement measures such as selective catalytic reduction, raising of stack heights or the use of low sulphur fuel oil, being given the relatively short remaining lifespan of the older units;

the University of Mauritius, which is the only institution having the capacity of effecting stack monitoring in Mauritius has already been contacted by the CEB to effect the exercise, which will be effected this week being given their heavy workload;

concerning noise abatement, again the cost factor is important and the CEB is addressing the issue. The use of the older units is being minimised, including stopping their operations at 2100 hrs daily as far as possible, and discharge of oil will be taken care of through the installation of an oil/water separator treatment system when the new plant becomes operational.

The CEB has also informed that they may be in a position to address the problem in an economically rational way by removing four out of the eight units by 2006 when sufficient new capacity is added to their system. The two remaining units will be kept for purely national situations.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is worth noting that since it started operation in 1955, there was an adequate buffer zone between the plant and residential areas. But, over the years, the buffer zone has continued to be encroached by new residential building.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the CEB has advised that demand will get so close to maximum energy capacity that CEB can supply between now and 2006, that should we remove any unit from St. Louis before that year, we are more than likely to impose load shedding and black out on CEB consumers nationally.

We should also take into consideration the social responsibility of the CEB in supplying electricity to the whole country and that the CEB is investing into new technologies which will be more environment friendly as compared to both the previous and present equipment being used.

My Ministry is monitoring the situation closely.

Dr. David: According to that enforcement notice, there should have been a stack monitoring on 15 April, that is, last week. I would like to know from the hon. Minister whether this has been done?

Mr Bhagwan: I replied that the University of Mauritius would be doing it this week.

Dr. David: But, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is in contravention to the Enforcement Notice.

Mr Bhagwan: Sir, we have been informed by the CEB that the University of Mauritius did not have the possibility of doing that at that period of time and we have given them the leeway to do it this week.

Dr. David: Can we know, therefore, when the University of Mauritius intends to perform it?

Mr Bhagwan: This week.

Dr. David: Has there been an EIA licence granted to the CEB of St. Louis?

Mr Bhagwan: Sir, the first station is a very old one and there is a proposal for a new station for which the EIA licence has been given.

Dr. David: Can we know when the EIA licence has been granted?

Mr Bhagwan: I don’t have the date in mind, but I can submit the information to the House later, Sir.

Dr. David: Can we know from the hon. Minister when all the items mentioned in the enforcement notice will be addressed?

Mr Bhagwan: We are monitoring the situation daily.

At 1.00 p.m. the sitting was suspended.

On resuming at 2.30 p.m. with the Deputy Speaker in the Chair.

Keywords: sulphur dioxide emission, incinerator, heavy fuel oil, air pollution, noise pollution, oil discharge, enforcement, low sulphutr fuel oil, monitoring, EIA licence

Pointe Aux Sables - Ecofuel Limited - Pollution Hazards

(No. B/314) Dr. J. B. David (Fourth Member for GRNW and Port Louis West) asked the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit whether he has received a petition signed by the inhabitants of Petit Verger, Pte aux Sables, concerning pollution hazards from Ecofuel Limited and, if so, will he give the date on which the petition was received and say what has been done since then by his Ministry.

Reply: An application for an EIA licence for used oil recovery at Pointe aux Sables by Ecofuel Limited was received by my Ministry on 20 March 2001. Further to the publication of EIA notice to invite public comments, a petition signed by the inhabitants of Petit Verger, Pointe aux Sables was indeed received on 30 April 2001 against the project. The concerns raised were related to noise and air pollution, traffic impact and risk of odour nuisance.

The receipt of the petition was acknowledged on 06 June 2001 and the latter were informed that their comments would be considered at the review stage of the application.

A Technical Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of Mr C. Fournier, Marine Engineering Surveyor & Consultant and comprising representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Rodrigues, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and International Trade, Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment, University of Mauritius and the Central Electricity Board was set up under section 10 of the Environment Protection Act in September 2001 to, amongst others, assess and comment on the EIA application.

The recommendations of the TAC and the comments received from the inhabitants of Petit Verger, Pointe aux Sables were taken into consideration during the examination of the application by the EIA Committee held on 20 June 2003. An EIA licence was issued to Ecofuel Ltd on 26 June 2003 subject to a set of 30 conditions which, inter alia, addressed the issues raised by the inhabitants.

Arrangements were also made on 17 July 2003 for the publication of a notice to inform the public about the decision as per Section 23 (5) of the Environment Protection Act 2002.

A recent letter of protest was received at my Ministry on 02 April 2004. A meeting was held on Tuesday 20 April 2004 at my Ministry with the complainants for the latter to take cognizance of the mitigating measures proposed in the EIA report as well as the conditions attached to the EIA licence. They have also been informed of the above measures in writing on 22 April 2004.

I wish to inform the House that construction works have not yet started. The proposed site is located within the 200 m buffer zone from the Montagne Jacquot treatment plant. The project is of national interest and will have a direct bearing on the proper management and disposal of used oil in Mauritius and Rodrigues. My Ministry will, in collaboration with other Ministries/Authorities, ensure regular monitoring of the implementation of the project for strict compliance with the conditions of the EIA licence.

My Ministry will also consult Ecofuel Ltd with a view to arranging a meeting to enable the latter to further explain the various processes involved and the mitigative measures to be taken.

Keywords: Noise Pollution, EIA licence, used oil recovery, air pollution, odour

Debate No. 28 of 24.08.2004
CEB - Air & Noise Pollution - Enforcement Notice

(No. B/726) Dr. J. B. David (Fourth Member for GRNW and Port Louis West) asked the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit whether an Enforcement Notice has been served on the CEB in relation to air pollution, noise pollution and discharge of oil at St Louis Power Station and, if so, will he state -

the remedial steps taken by the CEB in respect thereof, and

if an environmental audit has been carried out since March 2004 and, if so, will he state when, by whom and table copy thereof.

Mr Bhagwan: Yes, Sir, as stated in my reply to PQ No. B/254 on 20 April last an Enforcement Notice was served on the CEB on 15 March 2004 in relation to air and noise pollution and discharge of oil.

The CEB has informed my Ministry that –

with regard to air pollution, stack monitoring has been undertaken by the University of Mauritius on 29 April and 13 May last and the average level of sulphur dioxide was well below acceptable limits. Another monitoring exercise is scheduled for October;

with regard to noise pollution, the use of the 4 older units which are closer to residential units have been considerably minimised including stopping their operations at about 2100 hours as far as possible. The CEB will also undertake a noise audit by a Noise Consultant with a view to implementing a noise mitigation strategy; and

oil has never been discharged intentionally, but on 2 occasions there has been accidental oil spills due to overflow of the station's oil water separator in the last 25 years. An oil spill contingency plan has also been submitted to my Ministry.

An environmental audit is already under way and would be completed after the next air monitoring exercise and the noise audit. Meanwhile, my Ministry is closely monitoring the situation. I will make available a copy of the audit once it is ready.

Dr. David: Mr Speaker, last time, the Minister, when replying to that question, agreed - and, in fact, circulated the enforcement notice - that the CEB is operating with an excess amount of decibels, beyond what is accepted by law. Will the Minister state whether the CEB is still operating illegally?

Mr Bhagwan: We all know that the CEB is an old power station and the hon. Member who has been Minister of Environment himself, knows that the station dates back to 1955. Over the years, there has been replacement by new engines and old engines are being replaced. As far as possible, the CEB has been asked to reduce the operation and even to cancel operation of the older engines which are situated near residential buildings. With the coming into operation of the new engines, and the noise audit which will be done by a professional consultant, we will have clear results in the days to come.

Dr. David: The question is whether at the moment the CEB is operating with an excess of decibels beyond which is accepted by law, if yes, will there be any sanction against the CEB?

Mr Bhagwan: No, Sir. The CEB is giving service to the nation. We all accept that there has been a situation which has been existing over the years. I, myself, have been working there, Mr Speaker, Sir, and we all know that we are gradually replacing the old engines and people who have constructed their house near the power station have done so at their risks. There is a noise pollution which we are trying to get rid of over the coming months.

Dr. David: Can we know when the next stack monitoring will be done?

Mr Bhagwan: I have replied that it will be done in October.

Keywords: air pollution, noise pollution, oil discharge, monitoring, sulphur dioxide emission, oil spills, oil spill contingency plan, enforcement

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