Disgruntled Broga residents today handed in more than 1,000 protest letters to the Department of Environment (DOE) in Putrajaya to voice their concerns over the proposed placement of a sanitary landfill in a water catchment area that is the source of water supply for much of Klang Valley.

In the letters, residents from Semenyih and Broga in Selangor, urged the DOE to review plans to construct the landfill as well as the controversial 1,500-tonne Broga incinerator in the area since the project sites are part of a river basin which is a key source of water supply.

"When we met with DOE director-general Rosnani Ibarahim in late 2002, she told us that the incinerator would not be built in a water catchment area. She told us that she would be the first person to cancel the project if that was the case.

"But since the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report has been released, it is quite clear in the map that the area is definitely a water catchment area. Both the landfill and incinerator projects are planned there," said Alice Lee (photo right), a member of the Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro-tem action committee.

Lee said the letters were received by DOE deputy director-general Dr Shamsuddin Abdul Latif.

Public awareness campaign

"We asked for an appointment with Rosnani to remind her of her promise but we were told that the department would get back to us later," she said when contacted today.

Lee said some 100 members of the No Incinerator committee carried out a public awareness campaign this morning during the DOE's customer service open day in Putrajaya.

The group unfurled a 25-foot long banner which carried the message "The garbage landfill which has been proposed in the water catchment area will pollute the river water which is drank by all of us". Information flyers were also handed out to passers-by, she added.

The government has proposed the two massive projects to handle and process increased garbage volumes from Klang Valley households.

However, both proposals have run into strong criticism from local residents on grounds that the projects may cause severe environmental pollution.

Aside from contamination of water, the No Incinerator committee has also pointed out that the release of toxic gases and waste products such as dioxin could pollute the air and seep into ground water.

To date, the government has persisted in proceeding with the projects. The sanitary landfill is projected to be operational later this year while the proposed incinerator is scheduled to begin operations in 2007.

Problematic EIA report

In a letter to Rosnani, the committee said the sanitary landfill project may cause pollution of rivers which are the source of water for the Jenderam water treatment plant.

"The water supply from Jenderam is the source of drinking water to more than 1.5 million residents in the Klang Valley and Selangor."

The committee pointed out that the project was a clear violation of the Selangor Structural Plan (2002-2020) which prohibits state authorities from approving the placement of garbage processing sites within water catchment areas.

Criticism was also levelled at the EIA report for the incinerator project which is said to be lacking in details and alternative proposals.

"The report only stated that the incinerator will be sited in an area of 25 degree slope and adjacent to the Sungai Lalang forest reserve. We are very dissatisfied with this proposal because there was no detailed assessment on the impact of the surrounding area as well as the high costs required.

"The EIA report did not include any detailed interviews with local residents...(who) may suffer mental stress and the effects of pollution," the letter said.

Meanwhile, another committee member Wong Yuen Mei said the DOE conceded during a lecture this morning that the main water treatment plant in Broga is not equipped to process dioxin or heavy metal pollutants.

"The closest water treatment plant is the one at Jenderam. This plant treats water from Sungai Semenyih which is the source of 75 percent of the water to Klang Valley households. But the DOE officials said there are no plans to upgrade the water treatment plant," she said.