Translation of a news sent by Greenaction-Transnational / Alpe Adria Green:
LNG TERMINALS AND SEVESO DIRECTIVE: ON 22 JANUARY 2013 QUESTION TRIESTE REACHES THE EU PARLIAMENT.
On January 22nd, 2013 in Brussels, the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions is reviewing 3 petitions regarding the LNG terminals envisioned in the Gulf of Trieste. Petitions 1147/2008 (Greenaction Transnational) and 1472/2009 (Alpe Adria Green) regard Spanish company Gas Natura’s LNG terminal in the Port of Trieste: in particular, its significant environmental impact on the whole Gulf, and the breach of Community E.I.A. (Environmental Impact Assessment) procedures.
The third petition, No. 483/2007 (Greenaction Transnational), regards the lack of Environmental Impact Assessments for both LNG terminal projects envisions in the Gulf of Trieste (on shore by Gas Natural, off shore by E.ON), the lack of cross-border strategic evaluations on gas pipelines, the breach of security measures in industrial plants at risk of relevant accidents (Seveso), maritime pollution including that across the border, the under-evaluation of geological risk, as well as possible terroristic attacks or the disturbance of international naval traffics.
Petition 483/2007 has already lead to Italy being put in default for failure to comply with the Seveso Directive due to its failure to inform the citizens about risks arising from industrial plant in Trieste. This petition was implemented with a denounce regarding the lack of an E.E.P. (External Emergency Plan) in case of domino effect, which means, in case of a catastrophic accident involving all industrial plants at risk, which would amplify the dangers of the situation.
Under Community law, namely under Directive 2003/105/EC (implemented by Italy with Legislative Decree No. 238/2005 art. 6 bis) a basic emergency plan is mandatory, however, in the E.I.A. for Gas Natural’s LNG terminal that was completely omitted. This is especially serious because the LNG terminal is envisioned in an area of Trieste’s port that already hosts the SIOT oil terminal (the biggest in the Mediterranean) and seven more high-risk industrial plants.
Greenaction denounced to EU authorities that the lack of an Emergency Plan in case of domino effect is no coincidence: the local Italian authorities have willingly left that out as they retouch the Emergency Plans of the industrial plants surrounding the site of Gas Natural’s LNG terminal. This is a forgery, which severely understates the risk of fires in an area that already hosts many fuel depots (Zaule, industrial port) and paves the way to the dangerous LNG terminal.
Greenaction Transnational and Alpe Adria Green announce that they are implementing the petitions in view of their discussion.
Update: read the discussion’s outcome HERE.
18 November 2012: Free Trieste demonstrates against LNG terminals.