Illustration DR
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The last community council revolved around the issues of water resources, the risk of flooding but also the thorny issue of Travelers.
Against the backdrop of climate change, the management of water resources is a major concern of the Portes de France-Thionville agglomeration community (CAPFT), with periods of drought which should be longer and longer in the future. Floods are also a concern that calls for better prevention. Elected officials also spoke at length about the intrusion of Travelers on private land in Yutz, during the last community council before the summer break.
Lack of water and flooding
The issue of water and the risk of flooding was a central topic during this community council, in a context of climate change. The stakes linked to water “are colossal in our territory”, warned the president of the CAPFT, Pierre Cuny. The agglomeration has taken over water and sanitation competence in 2020 and benefits from the help of the Rhine-Meuse Water Agency in order to gain autonomy in terms of the territory’s resources. Today, 40% of these come from the Val de Fensch and the Syndicat des eaux messines. However, during low flow, Fensch Lorraine sees its capacities diminish, while the Metz region encounters problems of chlorides or nitrates. The CAPFT wishes to ensure a more secure network to guarantee its water supply. The mine water from the old Metzange mine will be able to be exploited. “However, it will be important to be able to store this water,” warned Laurent Schultz, vice-president in charge of water. It will be important to be able to store this water in order to have reserves. There was also talk of flood prevention, particularly in the area of the Arlon road, where the Veymerange flows. An expansion zone of 18,000 cubic meters will be set up under the flag roundabout, at a cost of 1.35 million euros excluding tax.
Travelers: “Only rights, no duty”
The reception of travelers worries again elected officials, since about sixty caravans were established on Sunday, June 27, without authorization, in the field of a breeder in Yutz. Even the cows couldn’t believe their eyes. “The two reception areas of Thionville and Yutz being full, it was not possible to direct them towards these spaces, but others could welcome them in the surroundings. This is not what we call a great passage. These are announced at the beginning of the year at the Prefecture and we are organizing ourselves to find a place for them to welcome them, ”reported Patrick Becker, Deputy Vice-President for Travelers. “The farmer is very upset, the Thionville police commissioner called me asking me to find another land, but I do not have any available outside the dedicated areas”, which are saturated.
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“Which municipality can accommodate such a large number of caravans? », Asked Pierre Cuny, recalling that discussions have been regularly initiated with various municipalities of the CAPFT or Val de Fensch. “We have made proposals to establish an area in the town of Thionville, but which leads to deforestation. I asked the sub-prefect if he could make an inventory of the state land that is unused. »Difficult for residents or economic activities to tolerate the presence of a large number of caravans nearby. “It’s insoluble! », Regrets Pierre Cuny. The high-traffic areas accommodate a greater number of caravans, on dates announced at the beginning of the year, on land made available for a short period. But in Yutz’s case, no one knows how long the sixty caravans will stay there. “I have been in politics for seven years and this situation is still unresolved. It is time to take things head-on, ”insisted the mayor of Yutz and first vice-president, Clémence Pouget, specifying that the farmer had carried out grassing work before installing his animals in the area. food: work and financial investment.
There are vacant lots in towns like Terville or Florange, Pierre Cuny reminded us. But for the time being, no mayor wants to see 400 caravans arrive on his territory, he explained, stressing that the dates of the major passages were in any case never respected. “They have rights but no duty! », Lamented the president of the CAPFT. Question places, the agglomeration is however in the nails. “It is a problem of state, it is a problem of laws”, asserted Pierre Cuny. “Parliamentarians need to take their responsibilities. “
An ecotax in the Grand Est
The agglomeration community wishes to apply an ecotax on its territory on the transport of goods. The fear of a traffic deferral effect motivates this request. Alsace will introduce one in order to avoid the same phenomenon from neighboring Germany, which itself has introduced this tax on the transport of goods. The fact that the A31 is free from the Gye toll to Luxembourg, and that the price of fuel is attractive there already attracts a very important road traffic. A motion has been sent to the government to demand the extension of this ecotax to the entire Grand Est for international transport.
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