The European Commission (EC) reaffirmed to the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN) that it does not find reasons to pursue the complaint filed by the association about the environmental impacts that will allegedly be caused by the construction of the Quinta da Ombria project, in the parish of Querença, county of Loulé.
The EC's General Directorate of Environment responded to a letter sent by LPN, in which the association contested the intention already expressed by the commission to file the complaint, insisting that the construction of this tourist unit will affect the Querença-Silves aquifer system, the largest in the Algarve and on which the development will be located.
In the Commission's view, the necessary guarantees were given, under Community law, for the establishment of Quinta da Ombria, despite the ecological sensitivity of the site chosen for its construction.
But, he warned, if these assumptions are not met in full, "the Commission may at any time instruct a new infringement process."
The decision taken by the General Directorate to propose the archiving of the case to the European Commission is based on "clarifications provided by the Portuguese authorities", namely the Environmental Compliance Report (RECAPE) of the project "Quinta da Ombria".
The most sensitive issue raised by LPN was the infiltration of pollutants in the aquifer recharge zone, from the golf course that will be built in the project, "a matter in which the Evaluation Committee pointed out the possibility of significant impacts", according to admits the structure of the EC.
"However, it also presented a series of measures to ensure the protection of the aquifer", justified the DGA, including the "change in the layout of the golf course" and the presentation "of a management plan for fertilizers, fertilizers and phytopharmaceuticals'.
With regard to water consumption, the DGA explained that "although in the first phase the water from the aquifer is used for irrigation, in a later phase irrigation will be carried out by reusing treated water in the new WWTP" in Vale de Mulher.
He added that, "even if that were not the case, the opinion of the Evaluation Committee considered that the use of water from wells does not represent any risk to the aquifer", as it has a large amount of water.
The European Commission's DGA also commented on the existence of similar projects in that area of the Algarve Barrocal, ensuring that the Portuguese authorities only confirmed the entry of a request for technical appraisal in the CCDRA of a project in Quinta do Freixo.
In this case, the DGA prefers to wait before «drawing conclusions», warning that in the environmental impact assessment of this new project, «it will have to pronounce itself very particularly on the cumulative impact on the Quinta da Ombria project».
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