JOHOR BARU: There was never any directive for the poultry farm and fertiliser plant in Layang-Layang, near Kulai to close down when it was found to have caused ammonia pollution last year, said Johor Department of Environment (DoE) director Datuk Dr Muhammad Ezanni Mat Salleh.
"What was issued by the Johor DoE at that time was a notice for the premises to conduct remedial work to clean up the areas affected by the pollution, and to prevent any recurrance of the problem.
"There was no directive to close the premises last year.
"The discretion to close down the premises is the perogative of the state government. We exhausted all avenues last year. We were seeking cooperation from the owner to comply to the regulations, but he did not cooperate," Ezanni told the New Straits Times.
It was reported yesterday that the poultry farm that also made fertliser using chicken manure had been found to be the source of ammonia pollution in Sungai Johor that led to the temporary shutdown of three water treatment plants in Johor since Friday.
The incident raised the ire of residents affected by the water disruption in Johor Baru, Kulai, Iskandar Puteri and Kota Tinggi.
It also led to the state water utility company, SAJ Ranhill Sdn Bhd, issuing a notice that up to 1.8 million consumers could be affected by the incident.
However, what was troubling was that it was not the first time the poultry farm had caused ammonia pollution.
In July last year, a similar case affected the water supply of 600,000 people.
SAJ Ranhill, in its official Facebook page "Setitis Yang Bermakna" said in a poster last night that all three water treatment plants in Semangar, Sungai Johor and Tai Hong have resumed operations.