Press release Council of State ruling

29.12.2021 | Press release Council of State judgment:

Council of State has major doubts about Oosterweel approach

Antwerp, 29.12.2021

Earlier today, the Council of State suspended the declaration of conformity of the Technical Report for the Oosterweel works on the Left Bank. In its ruling following a UDN claim filed by Grondrecht, Greenpeace and Thomas Goorden, the Council states that provisions of the VLAREBO may have been violated. During the hearing, the auditor was also very critical of the construction of a berm with the most heavily polluted soils on the 3M site.

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The coalition went to the Council of State because it is seriously concerned about the approach to the Oosterweel works that were started on the Antwerp Left Bank. These works are taking place in soil that is heavily polluted with PFOS, which poses risks to residents, site personnel and the environment. “We are not opponents of the Oosterweel project per se”, says Jonas Vernimmen, spokesperson for Grondrecht. “We simply want to ensure that PFOS soils are handled responsibly. To achieve this, it is essential that BAM respects the applicable legislation.” 

The Council of State has now ruled in a UDN procedure on the approach to the Oosterweel site on the Left Bank. It stated that the coalition has sufficiently demonstrated that there is a problem with the relocation of soil to the 3M sites, to provisionally suspend the declaration of conformity of the BAM Technical Report. This means that BAM can no longer do any earthmoving.

Auditor scathing about 'safety barrier' at 3M

At the hearing, the auditor at the Council of State was particularly critical of the approach at the Oosterweel site. The auditor stated that the soil excavated by BAM should be qualified as waste, as stipulated in the materials decree. This waste may not simply be dumped in a 'safety berm' on the 3M site. Internal BAM documents show that the qualification as a 'safety berm' is merely a pretext. This term was explicitly created in the settlement between 3M and Lantis, to prevent the soil storage from having to be licensed as a landfill.

“The fact that the auditor is so critical, and the Council of State is suspending the two declarations of conformity, is an important signal.”, says Thomas Goorden. “This ruling will undoubtedly also have an impact on our environmental injunction claim in which we demand, among other things, a remediation plan and regulatory soil storage. The question marks that the Council of State places on BAM's approach are an important sign for us.”

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