PAS, the Sustainable Water Platform, has reacted to recent ‘news’ put out by the government that there is now nothing standing in the way of the construction of a large desalination plant, off the coast of Albufeira.
As the Resident’s article of the time suggested, there is indeed a great deal still standing in the way of the project that will irreversibly affect the local and marine environment.
PAS has now corroborated that message “demanding transparency and explanation” from the government regarding the way it sought to interpret the recent decision by Loulé’s fiscal and administrative court.
“Contrary to what headlines like “Algarve Desalination Plant Can Go Forward. Court Rules in Favor of APA” suggest, the court did not authorise the construction of the project, nor did it rule on its legality or environmental viability. The court’s decision concerns only procedural aspects related to the RECAPE Public Consultation (Environmental Compliance Report for the Implementation Project) and has no effect on the project’s potential implementation. Therefore, PAS considers the manner in which this decision was presented to the public unacceptable, in a clear attempt to create the perception that the project is “free from obstacles,” which is not true”.
In a detailed press release, the entity bringing together Algarve citizens and wider environmental groups, makes a number of important points – not least the glaring conflict of interest highlighted by the minister of environment, who, when she declared that ‘the desalination plant can now go ahead’, referred to the “work of the APA (national environment agency) and Águas do Algarve who formulated their response to the interim injunction well”.
A legal source at the time explained this smacked of an unacceptable conflict of interest. Águas do Algarve is promoting the project, therefore it cannot be seen to have been ‘helping’ APA formulate a response. APA should do that without the help of an interested party.
Today, PAS reinforces this point: if the information given by the minister is confirmed “we would be facing a situation of serious conflict of interest and violation of the principle of independence of the environmental decision-maker, as provided for in national and European legislation. This is because the APA is the public authority responsible for independently assessing the environmental compliance of the project — acting as an impartial decision-maker —, while Águas do Algarve is the promoter and interested party in the approval of the same project. Any collaboration or exchange of procedural information between the two entities in the context of legal proceedings compromises the credibility of the administrative decision and may constitute a violation of the duties of impartiality and separation of functions enshrined in Portuguese law and in European directives on environmental impact assessment.”
For this, and other reasons – which it explains again in detail – PAS is “considering taking the case back to European authorities” in order to hold Portuguese authorities to account.
PAS equally refers to the fact that the ‘reopening of the public consultation” exercise, closed due to the injunction lodged by SEACLIFF COMPRA E VENDA DE IMÓVEIS, LDA – one of the several parties facing land expropriations as a result of Águas do Algarve project – was an “affront to civic participation”.
“Reopening the public consultation for only two days after the judicial suspension constitutes a procedure which, although legal, violates the principles of the right to information and the right to public participation enshrined in national legislation, Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 and the Aarhus Convention. This purely formal procedure effectively prevented the informed participation of citizens and organisations, constituting a sham public consultation”, says the group, which goes on to lay out all the pending judicial processes relating to the desalination plant which are “still in the phase of administrative justice”.
In other words, there is a lot more water to flow under the bridge before any real green light can be given for the desalination project that has seen local fishermen go to every entity they can think of, including the United Nations, to try and stop what they are convinced will be an environmental catastrophe.
In conclusion, PAS emphasises: “The court did not authorise the construction of the desalination plant;
· judicial-administrative proceedings remain in force;
· The way in which the RECAPE public consultation was conducted violates the democratic and legal principles of participation;
· It is imperative that the government and APA restore the truth, ensure the transparency of the processes and the independence of decision-makers;
· PAS is considering taking the case back to the European authorities, namely the European Commission and the Aarhus Convention Committee, for violation of the right to information and participation.
“Public participation is not an obstacle to decision-making — it is a guarantee of democratic and environmental quality. Manipulating information and shortening deadlines is a form of disrespect for the law and for citizens”, ends today’s release.
Source: PAS
