SILT DISCHARGE FROM IRON ORE MINE IDENTIFIED AS CAUSE OF SUNGAI LIPIS POLLUTION - DOE

KUANTAN, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The pollution incident at Sungai Lipis near the Sengkela Bridge in Raub, which went viral on social media yesterday, was caused by the discharge of silt from a silt trap at an iron ore mining operation in Hulu Sungai Bekil.

Pahang Department of Environment (DOE) Director, Zakaria Ahmad @ Mohd, said that based on inspections along Sungai Lipis, only Sungai Bekil - located near the mining area - was found to be murky.

“The occurrence of silt overflow into Sungai Bekil was also confirmed by the mine operator,” he said in a statement today adding that the condition of the river has since returned to normal.

Zakaria noted that the department conducted in-situ sampling tests along Sungai Lipis and found the water turbidity level to be 75.48 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), which exceeds the 50 NTU limit for Class II water resources.

“The pH reading was 7.34 and the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level was 7.47 milligrams per litre, both of which are normal for aquatic life,” he said.

Furthermore, he stated that the investigation findings will be forwarded to the Pahang State Department of Minerals and Geoscience (JMG) for further action by that agency.

Based on official records, Zakaria noted that there are no iron ore mining projects in the Raub District with an approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

“Existing mining activities approved for mining leases prior to 2015 are not subject to the requirement of an EIA Report under Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974,” he explained.

--BERNAMA