Two business leaders appeared on Monday in Spanish courts for their responsibility in an underwater gas storage project, accused of causing multiple earthquakes in 2013 off Valencia, in eastern Spain .
The two men, tried before the court of Castellon de la Plana, in the region of Valencia, are accused of "
crime against the environment
" linked to the lack of prior studies.
They both face a six-year prison sentence, according to documents consulted by AFP.
Read alsoSpain abandons gas storage project
The two defendants, who both occupy managerial positions within the company Escal UGS, 66.7% owned by the ACS group, number one in the construction industry in Spain, were indicted in 2015 in this case, with around ten officials from the Ministry of the Environment.
At the end of the investigation, a dismissal was pronounced against the agents of the State, the justice having not established any irregularities in the granting of the permits granted to Escal UGS within the framework of this project, financed notably by the European Investment Bank.
"
Beaver
"
Called "
Castor
", this project consisted in developing an old oil well located more than 1700 meters below sea level and 22 kilometers from the Spanish east coast, in order to be able to store a reserve of natural gas, equivalent to needs for three months of the region of Valencia. But at the time of the first gas injections supposed to isolate the walls of the reserve, in 2013, hundreds of earthquakes had occurred in the region, leading to protests from environmental associations and residents and then the site was stopped. Justice accuses the company Escal UGS for not having provided a study on the frequency of seismic activity in the area and for having delayed in suspending the injections once these consequences have been observed, resulting in "
a potentially catastrophic situation of danger
”.
Read alsoSpain: faced with soaring prices, Sanchez offers group gas purchases in the EU
Escal then said that the seismic activity in the area did not reach the threshold from which a study was required.
A few months after these incidents, ACS had given up its license to operate the site.
An indemnity of 1.35 billion euros was then granted to him.
The final abandonment of the project was announced in May 2017 by the government.
The trial of the two leaders of Escal UGS is scheduled to last until November 15.