FROM THE INTERESTED COMPANY
The Ministry of the Environment rejected the appeal filed by the company ASPALTIKA ELLADOS SA, against the decision of the Decentralized Administration of Epirus – Western Macedonia to shelve the application for the environmental licensing of the Asphalt and Petroleum Storage Unit in the Sayadas Strip, among the fish farms . This is a case that has plagued Thesprotia for more than two decades.
With its decision last November, the decentralized administration put the case on file on the grounds that after the area was zoned as an Organized Aquaculture Development Area (OAID), “there has been a substantial change in the spatial planning data » on the basis of which Environmental Conditions Approval was granted to the bitumen unit in 2011 and it can no longer be extended.
The company appealed to the competent Crisis Appeals Department of the Ministry of the Environment, requesting that the above decision be annulled, but a negative decision was issued from there, as, while a 5-month deadline had been granted for the company to submit a file for amending the environmental conditions of the investment in order to be examined if the specific activity is still compatible with the changes that came with the newest legislative framework of POAY, the company never proceeded with this step.
This is another step that removes the possibility of creating this investment in the area, a possibility that has met with the universal reaction of both fish farmers and the local community, as all the local bodies but also the bodies of Corfu.
Of course, an appeal filed by the Region of Epirus, requesting the cancellation of the hydrocarbons license that the Ministry of the Environment has granted to the above company, is also pending in the Supreme Court, a license that – despite the fact that the investment now definitively lacks environmental licensing – is still valid !
The decision
The decision states in detail:
The contested administrative act (ref. no. 52846/10.11.2023) is a response to a request of the applicant company concerned, with which a technical report was submitted regarding the investigation-control of the compatibility of the subject’s activity with the “Characterization and demarcation of an Organized Aquaculture Development Area (O.A.Y.) in marine areas of the Thesprotia Regional Unit and environmental approval of this plan” (Government Gazette 326/D/11.5.2022). With the contested act, the interested applicant company was informed that the deadline and the extensions for the submission of the file for the amendment of n. Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of Epirus, in which case the relevant application and every administrative document related to the activity is placed on file.
The applicant company timely and with legal interest brought the present appeal of legality according to article 8 of Law 3200/1955, as it applies only to a violation of the law of the contested act and not in terms of its essential content, i.e. it is not judged as an open appeal.
The applicant points out that the contested deed does not state what the incompatibilities of the AEPO are in reference to the special provisions of the special zoning framework and aquaculture, i.e. of Law 4282/2004 and the decree “Characterization and delimitation of the Organized Aquaculture Development Area” (POAY) in marine areas of the Regional Unit of Thesprotia and environmental approval of this plan” (Government Gazette 326/D/11.5.2022), with the consequence that it has no legal justification. This claim is deemed to be rejected as unfounded and this because: From the data of the case file as well as the opinion document no. 59724/19.12.2023 of the Directorate of Environment and Spatial Planning of Epirus the following emerges: Canceled by the Minister of PEN with his decision no. YPEN/DNEP/17865/797/20.2.2023, following the filing of an appeal under Article 8 of Law 3200/1955, no. 60485/6.6.2022 act granting extension of the time validity of the AEPO of the project in question. The above annulled administrative act was issued following the submission of a responsible declaration by the body that there has been no substantial change in the data on the basis of which the environmental licensing of the project in question was approved. After its cancellation, it was referred to the Administration for a new legal judgment. The competent regional agency (Department of Environment and Spatial Planning of Epirus), taking into account the decree “Characterization and delimitation of the Organized Aquaculture Development Area (POAY) in marine areas of the Thesprotia Regional Unit and environmental approval of this plan” (Government Gazette 326/D/11.5.2022), with document no. 145359/8.12.2022, requested the project operator to submit a file for amending the AEPO in accordance with article 6 par.2 paragraph a Law 4014/2011, as applicable, within a period of three months, in order to examine whether the specific activity is still compatible with the changes brought about by the newest legislative framework. With document no. 17361/6.4.2023 of the same regional agency, an extension of one additional month was granted for the submission of a file for the amendment of the AEPO following a request by the project operator regarding the necessity of submitting a file for the amendment of the AEPO, which it was extended for an additional month with document no. 25535/24.5.2023 of the same Service. The project operator with his application no. ADIDM/31079/26.6.2023 submitted a technical report regarding the investigation-control of the activity’s compatibility with the above p.d/gma and requested the extension of the time validity of the AEPO.
With the contested administrative document, the competent regional agency – Directorate of Environment and Spatial Planning of Epirus put the request on file. The judgment of the service is justified and sufficient in accordance with the applicable legislation since the submitted technical report of the project body does not replace the submission of an amendment file of the AEPO which, despite being granted a 3-month deadline and 2 monthly extensions thereof, was never submitted to be evaluated by the Administration if it is necessary to amend the issued AEPO, taking into account that the submission of a technical report regarding the investigation-control of the project’s compatibility with the above aquaculture decree does not meet the requirements set by the current legislation and the submission of the not provided for by her. In any case, the judgment of the competent licensing environmental authority on whether or not there is a substantial change in the environmental impacts escapes the legality check according to Article 8 of Law 3200/1955.
Based on these data, the challenged administrative act is legal and sufficiently justified according to Article 8 of Law 3200/1955, as it applies, and every contrary claim of the applicant has no legal basis and is rejected as unfounded.
For this,
A p o f a c i z o u m e
The appeal from 7.12.2023 of the company “ASPHALTIKA
ELLADOS SA” (no. prot. Gr. Yp. PEN. 128988/8780), according to the rationale.
