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Date Published: 24/09/2021
ARCHIVED - Calls for councillor resignation in Los Alcazares storm tank row
The spat between regional and town officials threatens to overshadow the damning effects of lacklustre storm protection
The Town Council of Los Alcázares in Murcia has been criticised for its repair work on the town’s storm tank. The Councillor for Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Environment, Antonio Luengo accused the local council of failing to uphold their responsibility to make sure the tank is in working order as it has been blasted for being too small to be of any real use as a flood protection measure.
The Councillor for the Environment in Los Alcázares, Antonio Luis López Campoy, has hit back.
In a statement, Mr López Campoy threw the buck back to the regional government, stating a lack of funds and infrastructure to repair the storm tank, and pointing out the Murcian regional authorities’ own failure to take effective measures to protect the ailing Mar Menor.
“This infrastructure represents an example of the investments that should not be made in defence and protection of the Mar Menor,” he said. “1.2 million euros have been thrown away, which could have been invested in measures that really seek to protect the Mar Menor.”
Speaking on behalf of the Town Hall of Los Alcázares, Mr Campoy reiterated a request “for the resignation of the person responsible for the state of the Mar Menor, Mr Antonio Luengo, for defending the interests of those who break the law on a daily basis and pollute the Mar Menor.”
While local and regional councillors squabbled back and forth, the natural lagoon continued to suffer the effects of nitrate filtration from illegal irrigation of farmland and unrestrained building work in the delicate ecosystem. Among other countermeasures being taken by concerned residents and ecologists, such as entreating the EU to make the Mar Menor a legal person with rights and protections, Greenpeace has launched an online petition to save the natural habitat.
El Mar Menor se muere.
— Greenpeace España (@greenpeace_esp) September 20, 2021
Los responsables tienen que ser perseguidos por este ecocidio, y el Mar Menor debe ser protegido. Firma para hacerlo posible 👉 https://t.co/Jah4JxLRVs pic.twitter.com/sMP9WSapL0
Image: Ayuntamiento de Los Alcázares
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