The Rural Agents inspected the works on the coastal path in La Savinosa, in Tarragona, on Friday, after the alert issued by environmental organizations grouped in SOS Costa i Camp de Tarragona. The visit came after public complaints by GATA about damage to the fossil dune, felling of vegetation, and dumping of sand next to the cliffs in the vicinity of the old sanatorium.
The tension of the conflict lies in the fact that the action denounced by environmental groups has, at the same time, administrative permits and environmental supervision contracted by the project. Despite these formal guarantees, environmentalists maintain that an alteration of the space has already occurred and are preparing protests and even a possible complaint to the Prosecutor's Office.
Rural Agents accredited on Friday that there was no impact on protected flora
The patrol deployed in the afternoon to La Savinosa checked the situation on the ground after the alert from environmental organizations. In official statements, the Agents Rurals indicated that the works have the corresponding permits and that they had not detected any impact on protected flora.
The inspection action occurred on the same day that the discontent of environmental groups gained visibility. SOS Costa i Camp de Tarragona had warned of the progress of the work in a particularly sensitive area of the Tarragona coastline.
From GATA, one of the entities integrated into the platform, they denounced on Instagram that the works are damaging a part of the fossil dune. They also affirmed that there has been a felling that they consider unnecessary of several specimens of bufalaga and pine trees, some of them nearly 50 years old.
Furthermore, the entity assured that slag has been deposited too close to the cliffs located in front of the preventive center. According to their account, that dumping has caused the burial of several specimens of Limonium.
The Provincial Council and the Sub-delegation defended a parallel track to access the preventorium
Faced with these criticisms, sources from the Diputació and the central Government's Subdelegation justified the intervention due to the need to build a runway parallel to the current one at the entrance to the complex. The objective, they indicated, is to guarantee direct access to the preventorium area.
The work also incorporates specific environmental supervision. To this end, the project has hired the consultancy Limonium as environmental management, with the function of ensuring compliance with sustainability criteria during execution.
The clash between both positions focuses on the real impact of the work on the ground. While the official inspection rules out damage to protected flora, environmentalists maintain that the intervention has already affected vegetation and elements of natural value in the coastal environment of La Savinosa.
GATA expressed its rejection with a public message in which it stated that an unnecessary felling of several specimens has been carried out and added that it regrets the lack of environmental sensitivity of the administrations involved and the lack of respect towards civil society.
For now, environmental organizations have announced protest actions and do not rule out resorting to legal channels. The possibility they have put on the table is filing a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office for what happened in the works on the coastal path.