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Date Published: 20/01/2022

ARCHIVED - Public prosecutor demands 21 months in prison for officials accused of polluting Mar Menor

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Minister of Agriculture and former Water Commissioner of the CHS are both facing prison time for environmental crimes

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Public prosecutor demands 21 months in prison for officials accused of polluting Mar Menor

Antonio Cerdá, Murcia politician accused of malpractice

A court case accusing top Murcia officials and the heads of the Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS) of malfeasance in the pollution of the Mar Menor has led the Public Prosecutor’s Office to ask for 21 months in prison and a fine of 5,760 euros for the former Minister of Agriculture and Water of the regional government, Antonio Cerdá, and for the former Water Commissioner of the CHS, Manuel Aldeguer.

These two men, among others in positions of power who were supposed to be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the Mar Menor, are on trial in the so-called ‘Caso Topillo’ for their part in polluting or neglecting to stop pollution of the lagoon, which has seen its ecosystem ravaged by nitrates running off from agricultural irrigation and intensive pig farming.

The public prosecutor’s brief also includes as defendants almost fifty farmers and agricultural companies, to whom it attributes an alleged crime against the environment for discharges from the desalination plants on their farms.

In reference to the acts attributed to Mr Cerdá, the indictment says that he limited himself to establishing “a formal provision” to prevent dumping, but that he really did nothing by not controlling compliance with the action programmes on the use of nitrogen fertilisers on farms.

As for the former Water Commissioner and current Director General of Water in the Generalitat Valenciana, Mr Aldeguer is guilty of not carrying out a proper inspection of a large number of boreholes and desalination plants in the Campo de Cartagena.

Finally, with regard to the farmers and companies accused, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is demanding sentences ranging from five months to six years in prison, as well as civil liabilities of up to 1.4 million euros in some cases for the damage caused to the environment.

Acquittal of Rosario Quesada

The case against another erstwhile defendant in the case, Rosario Quesada, former president of the CHS, is due to be dismissed on the grounds that the control of the existence of illegal wells and desalination plants was not her responsibility, but that of the Water Commissioner.

The indictment emphasises that the Mar Menor has been suffering increasing deterioration for years, mainly as a result of runoff from farms, but also due to urban development pressure, tourism and leaking groundwater from the Campo de Cartagena.

Discharges from agriculture have been increasing due to the widespread use of nitrogen fertilisers to try and optimise harvests, and, as the water from the Tagus-Segura transfer was insufficient, wells were drilled to extract underground resources.

This is despite the fact that the Mar Menor has several titles ensuring its right to special environmental protection, including Protected Landscape, Area of Geological Interest and Protection of Wildlife and Wetlands of International Importance, as well as being included in the Natura 2000 Network. It is also up for inclusion as a legal person under Spanish law after a popular grassroots petition in October.

Image: CARM