2023-12-29 12:00:00
A first battle was won by the collective of local residents opposed to the biomethanization plant project in Hautrage. According to the collective and our colleagues from SudInfo, the Walloon Region has in fact decided to refuse the permit request from the company CryoAdvise which intended to produce BioLNG and liquid Bio CO2 thanks to the biological degradation of waste from agriculture and agro-industry, in addition to producing digestates recovered from the process. A first victory for the inhabitants of the town who expect to see the war continue. Appeals are in fact still possible for the company. An eventuality for which the collective is preparing.
As a reminder, when submitting the permit application, CryoAdvise announced that it wanted to process 900,000 tonnes of waste per year, for an expected production of 20,000 tonnes of biogas. 80% of the slurry used will be imported from Flanders. The factory, which would be located 220 meters from the first residents, would run continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On the nuisance side, the project leader mentions olfactory and noise nuisances, “minimized” due to a closed circuit operation.
Announcements which quickly provoked local residents who united in the form of a collective to oppose this project. A petition had circulated and collected more than 3,000 signatures. The collective continued to put pressure on the Region by contacting numerous local elected officials in particular. A motion of support was then adopted by the Saint-Ghislain municipal council. A long-term work which is now bearing fruit.
Biomethanization plant project in Hautrage: while awaiting the position of the Walloon Region, citizens are raising awareness in the political world
“Our citizen collective is delighted with this decision,” announces the citizen collective. “Given the numerous gaps, inconsistencies and contradictions in the permit application file, it would have been incomprehensible that an objective analysis resulted in this permit being obtained. The experts from the Walloon Region naturally understood and highlighted these numerous shortcomings by their refusal decision. We hope that this decision will make the developer aware that a megalomaniacal project of this type has no place in Saint-Ghislain”.
Citizens ready in case of appeal
Several avenues of appeal are now available to the promoter who will decide whether to take them up or not. While waiting for a decision to be made on the company’s side, the collective is already preparing its weapons. “We are prepared for the possibility of this appeal,” say the local residents. “For several weeks, our collective has been working to counter it by joining forces with the non-profit organization SOS Hautrage, which has been campaigning for the preservation of the environment for more than 30 years. We will also soon defend our position in the Walloon Parliament.”
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