“No to the wet waste treatment plant in Mili”, begins the reminder to the TAR

Appeal to the TAR against the Sicilian Region, Metropolitan City, Municipality and Amam to block the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Mili. This was announced by the “I love my country” committee which returns to protest against the construction of the structure which should allow the single fraction of separate waste collection to be processed directly in Messina, thus saving on transport costs outside the province and on treatment at private plants.

The Committee does not give an inch “to protect the health and safety of the inhabitants of Mili”, we read in a note that reconstructs the story and also refers to the “protests of the residents which remained unheard by Federico Basile, in the double role of first citizen of Messina and mayor of the Metropolitan City”.

“The administration – write the leaders of the Committee – has not backed down from the realization of the work which, despite the fact that last April 29th the regional Technical Scientific Committee “identified multiple critical issues regarding the location of the plant, obtained a environmental compatibility opinion. In particular, in the intermediate opinion, the CTS expressly reported that “the presence of even single residential settlements within the radius of 1000 metres; the presence of individual settlements within 200 meters may constitute, after verification of local topographical and operational conditions, a specific reason for excluding the possibility of authorization […] it should also be noted that the plant in question, which as mentioned falls within the planning logic, would be located in an area adjacent to the existing purification plant, and connected to it as support for the purification cycle. In this location context, there are potential interferences due to the distance of the project site from residential areas or scattered houses, landscape and landscaping constraints due to the insistence within the buffer zone of 300 m from the shoreline LR 78/76 and distance of 150 meters from the stream Legislative Decree . 42/2004 and subsequent amendments”.

Mili, wet waste plant in the tender

In the appeal presented to the TAR, intermediate opinion no. 75 of 29 April 2022 was challenged in which the CTS, despite having requested further information and additions to the critical issues indicated in the opinion, failed to ask for clarifications regarding the proximity of the plant to the residential settlements and on the border of the sports facility of the hamlet of Mili Marina. The appellants also object to the violation of article 90 of Regional Law 16 of 1996, due to the non-existence of the opinion of the Departmental Forestry Inspectorate and the lack of investigation relating to roads, especially in relation to the traffic of heavy vehicles which will have to reach the port of Tremestieri, nearing completion.

“An unacceptable choice – comment the Lega-Prima l’Italia councilors” – given that it has been widely demonstrated that the plant, in defiance of the regulations, would be built too close to the homes of those who live in that area. Not to mention that on 2 February no offer had been received for the construction of the plant which, moreover, would considerably burden the traffic in the area, putting the safety of residents at risk”.

Furthermore, at the beginning of 2023 the Lega group leader Giulia Restuccia had reported that Mili and its inhabitants “are already brought to their knees by the plant present in the area, because the air is unhealthy and unbreathable due to the vapors released from the tanks of settling and purification, which discharge untreated and purified sewage into the surrounding sea, when the filters do not work at normal speed, also creating negative repercussions on the marine flora, as well as making the sea polluted. Adding another structure for the purification cycle of wet fractions would mean further burdening the area”.

“Last 13 August – we read in the appeal presented by the lawyer Paolo Starvaggi – the citizens of Mili Marina were literally invaded by sewage and the spillage of wastewater, to the point that a specific council question was proposed on the current problem which, however , has been occurring consistently for several years. In short, given that the Basile administration turns a deaf ear to the protection of the health and safety of the inhabitants of Mili, the only hope is that the judges of the Regional Administrative Court will accept their requests and free them once and for all from this sword of Damocles”.