WRITTEN QUESTION No. 926/98 by María SORNOSA MARTÍNEZ to the Commission. Damage to Contreras reservoir due to work on the A3
Date: 1998-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, SORNOSA MARTINEZ
Subjects: EU financing, Spain, countryside conservation, deforestation, degradation of the environment, engineering structure, environmental impact, motorway, protection of plant life, road network













EUR-Lex - 91998E0926 - EN






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91998E0926

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 926/98 by María SORNOSA MARTÍNEZ to the Commission. Damage to Contreras reservoir due to work on the A3  


Official Journal C 402 , 22/12/1998 P. 0046 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0926/98by María Sornosa Martínez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission(26 March 1998)Subject: Damage to Contreras reservoir due to work on the A3Work on the stretch of the A3 motorway between Valencia and Madrid which passes Contreras reservoir is having a severe impact on the environment and landscape and is in clear breach of the environmental impact statement for the project.Paragraph 1 of the environmental impact statement issued by the former Directorate-General for Environmental Quality and Assessment stated that, in order to prevent any significant impact on the hydrological features of Contreras reservoir, no quarry or borrow pits may be located, no materials of any sort may be discharged and no auxiliary installations connected with the works may be sited in areas from which the reservoir might be affected directly or by run-off.In the course of the work, excavations of more than 40 metres in height are being made and the excess material from the excavations is being tipped into the reservoir water. Tracks are also being opened whose course will need to be corrected at a later date.The result of these practices is the total destruction of the vegetation surrounding an area known as Rabo de la Sartén, as well as in other locations where viaducts are to be supported.Despite the protest of political parties and the Júcar Hydrological Confederation, the work continues to be in systematic breach of the recommendations of the environmental impact statement.This damage to the ecology and countryside is a result of the urgency with which the authorities are endeavouring to meet the deadlines for the work's completion. In this case, such urgency is not justified, given the environmental damage which it entails.Bearing in mind that some of the funding for this work is being provided by the European Union:1. Is the Commission aware of the impact which this work is having?2. Can the Commission send a delegation to assess the environmental damage and pollution which the work is causing?3. Can the Commission contact the Spanish Ministry of Public Works to ask it to restore the countryside and ecology immediately and ensure that further work complies with the environmental impact statement?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission(3 June 1998)The Commission feels that it is up to the Member-State authorities to check compliance with the conditions laid down in the environmental impact assessment statement. The Commission has therefore contacted that Member State in order, as requested by the Honourable Member, to be informed of any effects that the activities in question could have.In addition, when the committee monitoring the Cohesion Fund meets, the Commission will ask for clarification and closer details in order to ensure that the work continues in line with the environmental impact assessment.