On Wednesday 18 December, the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal annulled the environmental permit granted in 2017 for the reservoirs in the Poitevin marshes, including the Sainte-Soline reservoir.
The public prosecutor had proposed that the prefectoral decree be revoked for four basins, including the one at Sainte-Soline, which is currently being filled in, as requested by a dozen environmental associations. He considered that the construction of these structures in sensitive areas for the little bustard, an endangered species, did not comply with legislation on the protection of species. “The court suspends the authorisation of these four reserves until the derogation is granted”, the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal said in a press release issued this afternoon.
Critics had hoped for a partial or total suspension of the project. “This could be a turning point in the case. There is even a possibility that the project will be cancelled if the exemptions are not granted for these four basins”, said Julien Leguet, spokesman for the “Bassines non merci” collective, before the decision was announced.
Critics of the megabasins claim that the agro-industry is ‘monopolising’ water. In fact, the creation of megabassins to enable irrigated crops to continue growing in a context of frequent droughts due to global warming is far from a given. In October 2023, the administrative court of Poitiers cancelled two projects for 15 reservoirs in the Poitou-Charentes region. In January of the same year, the Bordeaux Court of Appeal annulled the approval of a project to replace reservoirs in Charente-Maritime, while in February the Council of State banned the use of five mega-reservoirs already built in Charente-Maritime.
Some farmers would like to see the rules relaxed and the use of reservoirs authorised. They have been listened to by Senators Laurent Duplomb (LR) and Franck Menonville (Union centrist). In their draft law, which aims to “free agricultural production from regulatory constraints”, they have introduced the facilitation of water storage projects of “major general interest”. The debate on ponds is not over.
Sources (French): Libération – Le Monde – franceinfo
