[Imc-ct] PRESS RELEASE: Earthlife Outraged

[Maya Aberman]

EMBARGOED UNTIL SATURDAY 27 JANUARY 5 PM


Earthlife Africa Cape Town (ELA CT) is outraged by attempts to curtail
public participation in decision-making about the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor
(PBMR) demonstration model.

The Revised Final Scoping Report for the second PBMR Environmental Impact
Assessment was released on January 8 2007. The period of review granted was
January 8 to February 8 2007. The document is 663 pages and in many
instances dense and technical. Furthermore it is a substantial rewriting of
the initial final scoping report after ELA CT showed numerous far reaching
legal defects in the final scoping report. ELA CT believes that granting a
review period of merely one month is ridiculous under any conditions but
that that month should begin on 8 January, a period when many people have
yet to return from holidays and many businesses are still closed, is
unacceptable.

To add insult to injury, many interested and affected parties were first
notified by email of the existence of such a report on 15 January, cutting
even shorter the dismally short period in which they have an opportunity to
review. Mawatsan, the EIA consultant, denies this fact. ELA CT is unsure
which is more worrying, that they should deal in untruths or that they don't
know what is happening in their own office.

The National Environmental Management Act states the following "the
participation of all interested and affected parties in environmental
governance must be promoted, and all people must have the opportunity to
develop the understanding, skills and capacity necessary for achieving
equitable and effective participation and participation by vulnerable and
disadvantaged persons must be ensured." It is the opinion of ELA CT that
these provisions are being disregarded in this matter.

In the interests of attaining administrative justice ELA CT applied on 12
January 2007 for an extension of this deadline and urges other interested
and affected parties who feel similarly to do the same. ELA CT has yet to
receive a response from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

Maya Aberman
Campaign Co-ordinator
Earthlife Africa
021 447 4912
076 754 6327
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