NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS IN BRIEF

Opposition to Dead Sea Works Concession

Environmental groups are opposing legislation aimed at paving the way for a development concession for the Dead Sea Works, a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals Ltd., which would permit the company to expand without being bound to the Building and Planning Law which requires, inter alia, environmental impact statements of development plans. The proposal, approved by the cabinet and by the Knesset, in a preliminary reading, was submitted within the framework of emergency measures to help solve the problem which arose last August when the Beersheba District Court ruled that the company stop the development work it was carrying out without a planning and building permit.

Under the proposed Dead Sea Works Concession Law (Emergency Measures), the government-owned Dead Sea Works will be able to continue its development work on eight existing projects, including construction of a magnesium factory, an additional potash-producing plant, salt mining, and the enlargement of its power plant, until a permanent law to cover its development is prepared within six months of final approval of the interim law. The bill calls for the establishment of an interministerial committee authorized to prepare requirements on the implementation of the development work to assure it does not cause environmental deterioration. Approval of the bill would retroactively permit all previous work conducted in the area.

The concession covers an area of approximately 620,000 square kilometers (some 3% of the entire area of the country) and includes thousands of kilometers which are declared or are designated to be declared nature reserves.

Salinity Survey Completed

A survey of areas of the country affected by soil salinity has recently been completed by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The survey earmarks problem areas, maps and categorizes levels of severity and suggests practical solutions.

The survey, which investigated such sources of salinity as inefficient disposal by industrial plants, inadequate drainage in intensively-cultivated agricultural areas and water projects which create an imbalance between the various minerals in the soil, earmarked such areas as the Jezreel, Harod, Beit Sh'ean and Zebulon Valleys as being affected by growing salinization.

The JNF is actively involved in the control of this adverse trend by installing drainage systems in fields that suffer from high water tables and hyper-salinity in the upper soil profile. In the Jezreel Valley, the JNF has already reclaimed 800 hectares drained by subsurface systems and expects to develop additional areas at a cost of $3.5 million over the coming five years.

Sewage Treatment Plant for Netanya

Some $22 million will be invested in the construction of a wastewater purification plant serving some 350,000 residents in the Netanya region. The plant will produce 40 to 60 million cubic meters of effluents per day, at a level appropriate for irrigation.

Also on the drawing board is the first installation in Israel for the processing of sludge for compost production. The project should be completed in two years.

Hazardous Substances Pipeline Renovated in Haifa Bay

Following strong pressure from the Ministry of the Environment, work on the renovation and replacement of the hazardous material pipeline system in Haifa Bay was initiated in September. The pipeline is a network of underground pipes from which fuels and gases are discharged from the oil refineries to various plants in Haifa bay.

The existing pipeline, parts of it 50 years old, is being replaced by a new pipeline. The problematic methane gas pipeline which had run adjacent to the train path is being moved to protect it from shocks caused by the train. The work is being supervised and controlled by the Ministry of the Environment; financing was arranged by the plants using the pipeline including Dor Chemicals, the oil refineries, Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline, and Deshanim.

New National Parks in Yarkon and Caesaria

The National Parks Authority has inaugurated two new projects: the opening of a new national park, Israel's 43rd, called the Sources of the Yarkon National Park in Petah Tikva and the opening to the public of a new excavation site in the Caesaria National Park where new and important discoveries were made.

The National Parks Authority is also expediting the establishment of three additional parks in the congested central region of the country: the Hof Hasharon Park, scheduled to open at the end of 1994, and parks in the environs of the Alexander and Hadera Rivers.

Sewage Masterplan for Dan Area

A new masterplan for wastewater disposal from the Dan (Tel Aviv) metropolitan region will put a final stop to the overflow of sewage to the Ayalon and Yarkon riverbeds. Initial investment in the Dan sewage treatment plant, Israel's largest, was $130 million providing for the treatment of some 90 million cubic meters of sewage a year. The implementation of the second stage of the project will require an additional investment of $60 million and will increase the capacity of the system to 120 million cubic meters per year. Planning for the second stage should be completed by the summer of 1994 and implementation is expected to be completed in five years.

Gas Turbines near Bar Shlomo

Increased demand for electricity, at a rate of some 5.5% per year, has led to the approval of a new power plant site by the cabinet. The Israel Electric Corporation is scheduled to begin construction of two gas turbines, at a capacity of 115 megawatts each, at the Hagit site, between Bat Shlomo and Elyakim in the north. Approval of this power plant site allows for an installed capacity of 500 megawatts and an option of up to 1,200 megawatts. The first two units will be operational at the end of next year, with another two turbines to follow a year later. The power complex will be supervised by a monitoring network operated by an association of towns for environmental protection.

Sulfur Content of Fuel to be Lowered

Energy and Infrastructure Minister Moshe Shahal has instructed the Israel Electric Corporation and the oil refineries to reduce the content of sulfur in their regular oil, now standing at 2.5% to 2%, beginning in January 1994. The newest move should result in a further improvement in air quality in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ashdod.

In a related step, the Energy Minister has instructed the Fuel Administration to supply diesel fuel with a sulfur content of 0.3% to the public transportation companies serving the Dan metropolitan area.