Four entities from Aragon and the Valencian Community and affected individuals have filed a lawsuit in court against the Maestrazgo Cluster.
The Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture, the Platform No to the MAT of the North of Castellón, the Citizen Movement Teruel Existe and the Platform in favor of the Landscapes of Teruel, together with affected individuals, have joined forces for the presentation of an administrative appeal to the Maestrazgo Cluster, against the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, in the Contentious Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Madrid.
It has been four years since the first news about a mega-project of energy production from wind in the mountains of Maestrazgo de Teruel. This Thursday at a press conference in the city of Teruel with the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture, the Citizen Movement Teruel Existe, the Platform No to the MAT of the North of Castellón and the Platform in favor of the Landscapes of Teruel, have reported that they have filed a contentious administrative appeal to the Maestrazgo Cluster, against the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, The entities value that “after a period of obscurantism, with contradictory data on what was intended to be done and with secret meetings between the company and some administrations, in addition to several meetings without content or question time, it was time to know the project”, which consisted of 42.It took an arduous work of study and analysis to formulate the pertinent allegations that were never answered by the company, nor by the Ministry. Several months later, the Environmental Impact Statement compatible with this project was published, which is the largest project ever approved in Spain, to the surprise of almost everyone, since it is located in one of the most environmentally valuable areas of the country. It pointed out important modifications introduced by the company through the presentation of more than 20 documents, which were never exposed to public exposure and could only be seen and analyzed by the technicians of the environmental evaluation body, the MITECO. A few months later, the previous Administrative Authorization was published and the corresponding appeals were filed, which were also not answered or taken into account. After the mandatory two months and with no time limit due to the Administration not having answered, an administrative appeal has been filed as a last resort against this megaproject that will destroy one of the most environmentally valuable areas of Teruel. For the filing of the lawsuit have joined various groups affected by the construction of the Maestrazgo Cluster, such as the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture, which has had to temporarily suspend the execution of the reintroduction plan financed by Europe “to avoid massacring the chicks that were to be released in the area, with the consequent impact on the local development plan with farmers who would improve the image and recognition of the quality of their products and, incidentally, help the economic, social and environmental sustainability of this group,” said Juan Antonio Gil. The Platform No to the MAT of the North of Castellón, affected by the power line of evacuation of the Cluster, which would cross the towns of Portell, Cinctorres and Morella, also participates. These municipalities have also joined the presentation of the dispute because of the strong impact it has on their municipalities. The Movimiento Ciudadano Teruel Existe joins the filing of the lawsuit as an act consistent with the arguments and positions it has maintained over the years on the project, which have already filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office for irregularities in the processing.
Ernesto Romeo thanked all the people who have collaborated in the crowdfunding process, and also the union of entities to be able to face the work and the economic cost of litigation in court, “to defend to the end the most valuable areas of this transition that is not ecological and if speculative”. It has highlighted the danger of fires, deforestation that will cause, and the immense natural and cultural heritage value of this region to promote its development with rural tourism, “if they destroy their natural resources and landscape its future will be very black”. The Platform in favor of the Landscapes of Teruel is the one who has filed the lawsuit on behalf of all, and Javier Oquendo has highlighted the reasons on which it is based: “It has been badly processed, it has not had a transparent procedure, it has minimized the effects on fauna and flora, which have a great impact on the area, it has not taken into account the values protected by the Natura 2000 Network, and because it will affect traditional activities, such as agriculture and livestock, also the forestry activity and nature tourism that is being developed in the Maestrazgo and which is ratified by the granting of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism”. These plaintiffs have been joined by several individuals who suffer severe affections in their lands by the installation of a wind turbine, or substations, or high-voltage towers and lines. They renounce to these “huge profits” offered by the companies because, in their own words, “they want to leave the land to their children as their parents gave it to them” and thus preserve the inherited values. The hope in filing the lawsuit, with high costs, defrayed with the contributions of many citizens, is to get justice to paralyze what the administrative procedure “has not wanted or known how to do”. It is also presented requesting the precautionary measures for the prior suspension, with the conviction that “the laws are there to be complied with and if the administrations ignore them, it should be the judicial power who dictates their suspension and ensures compliance with the law”.
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