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Parliamentary question - P-007402/2016Parliamentary question
P-007402/2016

Decontamination in Flix

Question for written answer P-007402-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Francesc Gambús (PPE)

As much as 80% of the funding for decontamination work at the Flix reservoir has come from the EU Cohesion Fund. The work is ongoing but is currently blocked. According to reports by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the decontamination work needs to be extended. Furthermore, mercury has been detected in samples of groundwater at concentrations of 68 ppb (the acceptable limit is 1.5), as well as other contaminants that are hundreds or thousands of times above the legal limits. In addition, the production plant, the region’s main economic actor, has announced it will close by 2017 because it is unable to come into line with EU environmental legislation.

1. What measures can the Commission take, within its powers, to accelerate the decontamination work and stimulate the local economy?

2. Given that a possible solution to the lack of sediment in the lower reaches of the Ebro and its delta would be to transfer sediment from Flix, does the Commission have access to a specific analysis of the situation concerning the decontamination of the reservoir and nearby aquifers?

3. Can the Commission provide its preliminary analysis of the river basin management plans submitted by Spain?