Dump clean-up divides communities
STARK contrasts have been illustrated between the attitudes of the Valencian and Murcian regional governments towards the restoration of the old landfill site on the border.
Located partly in Abanilla, Murcia and partly in La Murada, Orihuela, while the Valencian authorities have finished sealing off the pits on their side, the Murcian environmental prosecutor is investigating the lack of action being taken there.
The site was managed by the family company of controversial Orihuela businessman Ángel Fenoll, Proambiente, until it was shut down in 2015 over numerous environmental offences. Proambiente went into suspension of payments and is embroiled in numerous court cases, meanwhile the regional governments assumed responsibility for the clean-up operation and the bills are being added to the company’s legal debts.
The Valencia environment department started on pit D, located entirely in Orihuela and covering 20,108 square metres, which was combusting internally and had been filled with unauthorised waste.
It posed a health and environmental risk to nearby urbanisations, farms and public waterways, but work to remove contaminating leachates and seal it was completed in 2017.
Pit A, with 22,360m2 in La Murada and 6,698m2 in Abanilla, had problems with leachates leaking out and was sealed at a cost of €416,754.
Pit C, with 36,653m2 in La Murada and 35,340m2 in Abanilla, was not leaking but its location by a ravine and the amount and unknown nature of the waste in it required urgent action and, despite having to stop for heavy rains in late 2018, was finished for €710,196.
Finally pit B, covering 20,770m2 in La Murada, required consolidation to protect against any future leaks if the sides collapsed, and was sealed off for €523,650 with only revegetation of the area left to complete, which will be carried out this autumn.
A total of €2.5 million has been spent by Valencia to repair the damage caused by the leachates to the subsoil and surface waters in the area, even reaching ravines, watercourses and the ditches alongside the CV-872 road.
However, allegations of inaction have been levelled against the Murcia environment department by the Guardia Civil environmental service (Seprona) and protest group Vertivega.
Seprona carried out an inspection in December and claim that, while work had been stopped following the September
floods, a faulty pump had been sending toxic liquids into a ravine.
Vertivega alleged that parts of pits 1 and 2 sank after the floods and were leaking gases because they had not been properly sealed, the 50,000m3 basin of leachates was about to overflow, and contaminated water was flowing 1km from pit 5, damaging roads and homes and killing trees on farms.
A court in Cieza is investigating both accusations as a single case.
In June Murcia regional government denied any leachates had escaped and said it had worked through the lockdown to remove 2,700m3 of these liquids and will invest €1 million to seal pit 1. Both regional authorities are also required to maintain the site and guard against any further problems for the next 30 years.