Le Figaro Bordeaux
Seized by the Bordeaux public prosecutor's office presenting a request from the Sepanso Gironde Federation, an association for the defense of the Gironde environment, the judge of freedoms will have to decide: should Veolia and the intercommunal union of the Arcachon Basin (Siba) be submitted to a financial penalty and the suspension of activities until its
apparently
dilapidated network is repaired?
At issue: the management of rainwater and wastewater from the Arcachon Basin, whose overflows last December are suspected of being the cause of the spread of norovirus, present in fecal matter and causing gastro- acute enteritis.
Found in the oyster beds of Gironde oyster farmers in December, the bacteria had caused numerous indigestions and a crisis for the sector, unable to sell its contaminated oysters during the most important season for its turnover.
However, according to article L216-6 of the environmental code, which is the basis of Sepanso's request,
"the fact of throwing, dumping or allowing to flow into the waters of the sea a substance whose action or reactions cause, even temporarily, harmful effects on health or damage to flora or fauna, is punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.
Also read “My ancestors arrived in 1878”: in Lège-Cap-Ferret, the village of L’Herbe perpetuates the oyster farming tradition
Suspicions of marine pollution
“There have been many incantatory complaints
(from sick people, Editor’s note)
, but Sepanso wants to obtain measures
,” pleads with Le
Figaro
Maître François Ruffié.
The lawyer of the association for several decades, who initiated this
“extremely rare”
environmental criminal referral , hopes to obtain a decision forcing Siba to
“come into compliance”
within 6 months with
“injunction to drain the basins as soon as that they threaten to overflow
.
Confirming the referral to the judge of freedoms and detentions who must decide the case for the two accused, the Bordeaux public prosecutor's office recognizes an
“extremely rare”
criminal summary and even
“a first in France”
.
Proof of the responsibility of Veolia and Siba in the oyster crisis must nevertheless be established.
However, the conclusions of the investigation, notably carried out by the French Biodiversity Office, are not yet public.
According to our sources, the case, which should have been judged on Friday, was postponed due to the filing of conclusions of nullity and incompetence.
Verdict, next Thursday.