Sivens dam: the State ordered to compensate two associations

The administrative tribunal of Toulouse on Tuesday condemned the state to compensate for moral damage two associations which fought against the construction of the disputed dam of Sivens (Tarn), we learned from their lawyer.

“This decision puts the State in front of its responsibilities”, said Me Alice Terrasse who had presented a request for compensation at the request of the collective for the protection of the wetland of Testet and France nature environment Midi-Pyrénées (FNE), asking the administrative court to note “The faults committed by the prefect of Tarn and the prefect of Tarn-et-Garonne”.

The two associations each obtained € 10,000.00 for non-pecuniary damage.

A decision that follows a first sanction of the Toulouse TA, which in June 2016 had annulled three prefectural decrees. The declaration of public utility (DUP), the authorization of clearing and the exemption from the law on protected species (the Sivens wetland contained around a hundred), making work on the area illegal.

“Not only were the authorizations illegal, but there was also a culpable failure by the State because the first clearing works, which had a considerable environmental impact, were carried out without authorizations”, specifies Me Terrasse.

“This new compensation action places associations at the heart of the process. It is a full and complete recognition of the work they do ”, adds the lawyer stressing that the presentation of a new draft retention, “Very close to the old” and always fought by environmental associations, has been repeatedly rejected.

“Today, justice has recognized the serious damage done to associations for the protection of Nature and the environment”, estimated for her part Françoise Blandel, co-president of the Testet Collective.

“There remains a great bitterness, we cannot forget the active complicity, at the time of the facts, of all the ‘decision-makers’, the unprecedented and repeated brutalities of the police, which caused many injuries, significant trauma “, also reacted the President of FNE Midi-Pyrénées Thierry de Noblens.

The first dam project at Sivens on the course of the Tescou, a tributary of the Tarn, was to allow the constitution of a water reserve of 1.5 million m3 to meet the irrigation needs of local agriculture.

On October 26, 2014, Rémi Fraisse, a young 21-year-old environmental activist, was fatally injured by a grenade during violent clashes on the construction site between gendarmes and environmental activists.

A dismissal in favor of the gendarme responsible for the fatal shooting was rendered in January 2018.

The first dam project was abandoned on December 4, 2015 by prefectural decree.

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