PFAS coalition fears reckless restart of Oosterweel works and calls on the Constitution to prevent this

08.07.2022 | Press release: coalition fears reckless restart of Oosterweel works:

PFAS coalition fears reckless restart of Oosterweel works and calls on the Constitution to prevent this

Antwerp, 08.07.2022

The PFAS coalition today submits the final conclusions for its environmental injunction in the Oosterweel file. The coalition fears a reckless restart of the earthworks with contaminated PFAS soils and therefore asks the court, by invoking article 159 of the Constitution, to assess whether the permit for the 'safety berm' in particular is lawful.

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Since the devastating judgment of the Council of State on 19 April, the groundwork for Oosterweel will in principle be at a standstill. In response to this, an interpretative decree is being prepared to circumvent the criticism of the Council of State. Both Minister Demir and Minister Peeters have stated in the Flemish Parliament in recent weeks that everything is being done to resume the groundwork as soon as possible after the construction holiday. 

“We are seriously concerned. So far, we still see no rock-solid guarantees for a safe and legal approach to the site,” says Toon Penen of the citizen collective Grondrecht. “With an interpretative decree, the works in the polluted Oosterweel soil could quickly resume, without a fundamentally different approach than the one condemned by the Council of State. Again, tampering with our own legislation would be unacceptable to us.” 

Today, the PFAS coalition's attorney is filing the final conclusions for the environmental injunction. This was initiated at the start of major Oosterweel excavation works last summer. The coalition is having Article 159 of the Constitution included in the conclusions as a safety net and is asking the court to assess whether the permit for the so-called 'safety berm' in particular is lawful.

“We are adding an extra stick to our ongoing environmental strike action,” says environmental activist and PFAS whistleblower Thomas Goorden. “We want to avoid unsafe landfills or berms being created on or around the site or earthmoving without the pollution being mapped out. There is also a lot wrong with the way in which the permit for that 'safety berm' was created. For example, there is at least a violation of the EIA obligation and the Habitat Directives.” 

Dialogue

For several weeks now, the PFAS coalition has been in dialogue with the cabinet of Minister Demir. The coalition is working on a credible consultation framework to discuss a safe and legal approach to the site and the remediation.

“It is explicitly not our intention to stop the Oosterweel works,” concludes Joeri Thijs of Greenpeace. “But it is evident that such a gigantic construction site in heavily polluted soil can only be done within a safe, legal and broader approach with attention to the remediation of the entire environment. We will think along about solutions. But the past year has shown that legal procedures have been crucial up to now in forcing client Lantis and the government to be cautious.”

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