The As Conchas reservoir, Built in 1949 for hydroelectric energy generationa place of recreation for the community has been for years. However, the uncontrolled proliferation of macrogranjas in A Limia has turned the area into a focus of pollution.
For more than two decades, the inhabitants of As Conchas – a small town of the Orensana region of A Limia— They live with the stench of the slurry and the contamination of the waters due to the proliferation of intensive livestock farms.
Before the iauthority of the authorities and the progressive deterioration of their surroundingsThe neighbors have decided to take other public bodies to the courts before the courts, so they consider a violation of their fundamental rights. The complaint has been filed before the Superior Court of Xustiza de Galicia, who will be in charge of assessing the responsibility of the administration.
Pollution in as shells is unbearable
A group of nine plaintiffs, including people and organizations, among which is the Federation of Cecu consumers and users, with the support of Friends of the Earth and Customer, has led the Galician authorities to justice for allowing for decades the contamination of the As Conchas (Ourense) reservoir. The contamination is due to intensive breeding of pigs and aviangiven the inactivity of the authorities, and denounce that this activity has made life “unfeasible” in their community.
It is Judicial case marks a precedent in Europesince for the first time a court will evaluate the impact of industrial livestock on water resources, from a perspective of fundamental rights.
In the A Limia area, in Galicia, they operate hundreds of intensive livestock farms due to the authorizations that the Xunta has granted permissivelydespite the fact that state and European legislation force administrations to guarantee the protection of the health and well -being of citizenship. The plaintiffs denounce that this principle should be decisive when evaluating the viability of allowing or non -agricultural and livestock exploitations.
However, and as reported, the living conditions in the area have deteriorated seriously: The population is exposed to serious risks to their health and fears drinking water from the wells, while the stench does not even allow the windows to open. In certain cases, municipal supply waters are also contaminated.
After Repeatly request the regional government and the authorities that act in the face of the contamination that affects the area And not getting an answer, the residents in the town of As Conchas, adjacent to the reservoir of the same name, have decided to take the case to the Superior Court of Xustiza de Galicia. The plaintiffs accuse the agencies responsible for violating state and European legislation for not taking measures to protect the health and well -being of the community.
Statements
Pablo Álvarez Veloso, president of the local and plaintiff association association in the case, has declared:
«Like many of those who live in As Conchas, I’m afraid to drink water from our wells due to pollution. We are so concerned about the situation, that even the idea of walking near the reservoir is unthinkable.
«However, instead of alerting our community of the true level of pollution in the area, Local authorities argue that water is in “good condition”. Every year they tell us that children can bathe and play in the reservoir without any signal that warns of water toxicity. ”
«We have talked many times about these issues with regional and local governments directly, but We have the feeling that they don’t listen to us. So we have decided to take action on the matter and go to court to protect our community. ”
He nitrate level recorded in the reservoir is extremely highwhich means a risk factor of different types of cancer, including thyroid cancer, breast, ovaries, stomach, pancreas and bladder. Its presence has also been associated with non -Hodgkin lymphoma (LNH) and methemoglobinemia, a disease that originates in the blood and can be deadly.
In addition to the nitrates, the studies available to the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the reservoir, known for causing complicated diseases to treat (or impossible in some cases). The World Health Organization has warned that these types of resistant superbacteria Antibiotics are among the ten main threats to humanity.
The intense stench from these intensive farms is caused, according to the demand, by some Fine particles in the air that can cause respiratory problems and asthmaespecially to the most vulnerable, children and older people.
Mercedes Álvarez de León, demanding in the case and local businesswoman, has declared:
«I moved to As Conchas almost forty years ago. Here I have formed a family and have opened my business, which is next to the local reservoir. I have also seen how the area has changed to the worse. In the hottest months of the year, we are even afraid to open the windows to refresh the housebecause that is when the reservoir stench becomes more unbearable. ”
«During the summer, The headaches that I have since 2012 get worse and become more frequent. I have gone to the doctor again and again to see what the cause is, but they have not found an explanation. I think it is due to this pollution. Every time it goes to more, there are days when I don’t even leave home ».
Even with these risks to public health well documented in the demand and the problems faced by the residents of As Conchas on a daily basis, the government and the authorities continue to allow these industrial farms to continue functioning as until now.
The plaintiffs claim that permits are still granted to new livestock farms, despite the obligations that the authorities have, according to the Spanish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and Environmental Legislation of state and European level.
Nieves Noval, a client lawyer, one of the NGOs that supports the case, has declared:
«Both the Spanish Constitution and European legislation are unequivocal in their mandate: the authorities have the legal obligation to protect citizens”.
«We believe that the authorities have failed the residents of the region of A Limia and As Conchas. Despite being fully aware of the real impact that industrial livestock exerts on the areathey continue to authorize these farms permissively and repeatedly. ”
“This situation, which is contrary to law, has led the plaintiffs to an unsustainable situationfacing daily pollution, which puts their health at risk, as well as in certain cases the water of their own wells, the air they breathe and the soil on which they grow their food ”.
«Families that carry several generations in As Conchas have seen how His home has become a landfill. This cannot continue like this. We are proud to support this community and provide them with all possible assistance to help them do justice before the courts. »
Blanca Ruibal, representative of Friends of the Earth, an organization that supports the case, has declared:
“The situation reached by the region of A Limia is unacceptable. An entire community cannot be allowed to suffer the consequences of industrial livestock pollution due to the lack of control of administrations, with serious problems for their health and with the impossibility of making a normal life. reservoir should be an enjoyment zone for people who inhabit the environmentbut it has become a stercolero. ”
“This livestock model involves damage to people and the environment and the authorities have the responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of the population. For this, it is urgent that an industrial livestock reduction plan be established and bet on extensive livestock, agroecology and food production models that respect the limits of ecosystems and contribute to curb depopulation and maintain a living rural world ».
“For us it is vital to accompany and support the plaintiffs in this process and we will do what is in our hand to defend them in this situation of injustice. In turn, We hope you feel a precedent and that more people can join demands of this type to require respect once and for all to the fundamental rights of communities ».
David Sánchez, director of CECU, has declared:
«We consider inadmissible this situation that has led to preventing the population of the area from consuming the water that comes out of its taps. We demand from competent administrations acting to put solutionsince it is not acceptable that neighbors have to stock up through tank trucks or bottled water, with the obvious disorder and limitation of the most everyday activities that that implies.
These administrations cannot claim the ignorance of the situation. Is administration responsibility to ensure that the activities of the livestock industry respect the environment and do not compromise the water supply in wells or the municipal network ».