In a statement released Monday, the Ministry of Ecological Transition announced its willingness to appeal to the Supreme Court after the Nancy Administrative Court of Appeal quashed the prefectural decree authorizing the “unlimited” storage of 42,000 tonnes of hazardous waste in Stocamine. The ministry believes that the court’s decision “delays a containment that can no longer wait”, in particular because of “the collapse of the galleries of the site (which) will make any intervention impossible after the end of the decade”.
Barbara Pompili, the Minister for Ecological Transition, decided in January to contain, without additional clearance, this non-radioactive hazardous waste (asbestos, arsenic, mercury, etc.), located at a depth of 535 meters, under the water table of ‘Alsace.
The potential ecological benefits of an additional destocking of waste are “not demonstrated, and this would present significant risks for workers”, assures the ministry. Conversely, “the achievement of containment in optimal conditions is essential to ensure the protection of the Alsace aquifer”, he adds.
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Local elected officials and environmental defense associations favorable to additional waste disposal rather than containment were quick to criticize the reaction of the executive. “It’s a shame, it was an opportunity to put things back on track. There are other solutions, we do not want to handicap the future of future generations. Alsace is not a garbage can”, lamented Frédéric Bierry, the president of the European Collectivity of Alsace (CEA).
“This decision will further lengthen the deadlines for destocking while the risks of pollution of water and the environment are proven”, he added, renewing his proposal for “consultation with all the partners for the ‘future of the site. “” The State wants to pass in force, “commented Yann Flory, spokesperson for the Destocamine collective. “The government does not care about the opinion of the inhabitants and the elected officials. It spoils the file, it is dragging out, so that we can no longer remove the waste soon.”
