Last Thursday, the «Committee of Struggle against the Amari Hybrid Project» met in Sitia, in order to evaluate the recently published decision of the CoE.
It is recalled that according to the decision, the Council of State annuls, as unlawful, the Decision on the Approval of Environmental Conditions of the former Minister of Environment Costis Hatzidakis, regarding Subproject 1, i.e. the part of the Amari Hybrid Project that concerns the installation of giant wind turbines in the mountainous area of the Municipality of Sitia.
According to the Struggle Committee, the CoE accepted two very serious reasons from those who relied on in their application by the 210 citizens and bodies, to cancel the project's AEP. These reasons are:
- The minimum permissible distances 4 Wind Turbines from declared archaeological sites are not respected Sitanos and Karydi, as these distances are provided for in the Special Spatial Plan for RES.
- The court ruled that the company had to carry out a Special Ecological Assessment (Ecological Study)in accordance with the official standards, despite the fact that the wind turbines are located outside protected areas (Natura-ZEPs, Important Bird Areas). It also considered that the survey of the bird fauna of the area was incomplete and therefore unacceptable. It was also considered that the incomplete mapping data was not supplemented by other recent studies by public bodies unrelated to this project. Finally, it considered that the provision in the RIA for the monitoring programme in the operational phase of the project is unacceptable, since its existence demonstrates that the administration is not sure what the effects of Subproject 1 will have on the wild birds in the area.
«This decision actually blocks the whole project, despite the false celebrations of the company and its fellow travellers to the contrary.», says the Struggle Committee, adding that «after 6 years of struggles by residents, stakeholders and the Municipality of Sitia, finally the vindication has come.».
In the announcement of the «Committee of Struggle against the Amari Hybrid Project» the following is also mentioned:
«A major battle has been won in the great war against the companies that have set their sights on the Sitia region, with the sole aim of making huge profits from the exploitation of the sun and wind of the region, destroying any other positive development prospects for the place, even claiming that they will supposedly save the place from climate change.
Faced with a «hostile» CoE, in the sense that this court is not interested in redressing injustices but in judging and ensuring the application of «legality», which is determined by a number of unpopular and anti-environmental laws, even despite the contrary directions of the European Union, finally, with our appeal we managed to highlight how ruthlessly and arrogantly the company TERNA ENERGY behaved in this project, ignoring and continuing to ignore the concerns and choices of local residents. We managed to highlight the blatant violation of even the legislation that primarily supports and serves the interests of RES companies, such as the outdated Special Land Use Plan for RES of 2008.
The complete indifference of TERNA ENERGY for the life of the residents and the particular characteristics of the area (existence of a large number of archaeological and other cultural monuments, existence of inhabited traditional settlements, existence of a large number of caves, existence of important catchment basins, springs and boreholes with water suitable for human consumption, existence of important wild birds that should not be harassed but protected, existence of the Sitia Geopark with the number of protected geotopes and formations which is an important conquest of the region, etc.), reveals the much-publicised «ethos» and «sensitivity» of the company which claims that its projects will help the development of the area and that the inhabitants will benefit from them, while in reality it is destroying it.
In fact, the company did not hesitate to use every means to overcome the significant reservations that various competent authorities and scientific bodies had about the impact of the projects in the area and in the end managed to distort their position or override them. Unfortunately, in this effort it had the «tacit» at least «tolerance» of the licensing authority (DIPA), which adopted, without tortuous scrutiny, every false claim made by the company and in the end gave an opinion in its favour.
We believe that all those who are interested in the future of the place must continue to fight, each from their own perspective, for the removal of the wind turbines of this project and other similar ones planned for the area, in order to open the way for development, as they want it and to create the necessary conditions (new jobs, etc.) that will keep young people in Sitia. The scientific bodies that have given negative opinions and the relevant public bodies and agencies that have expressed reservations or given negative opinions on the project must now demand that the company comply with the law and with their recommendations to protect the residents and the area.
TERNA ENERGY with the comments of its approved circles that were leaked, implies that it will make all the necessary amendments and corrections in accordance with the CoE's decision and will come back, which unfortunately is not excluded.
Regardless of how much it is possible to adapt to the CoE's suggestions, it is certain that this cannot be done immediately nor is it very easy for the company.
In the meantime, the residents, the institutions and the Municipality of Sitia must take all necessary actions to shield the area from such «friendly intentions».
It is absolutely necessary to promote the identification of all sites of archaeological interest and other cultural monuments, to declare, demarcate and define protection zones for all sites, as required by the legislation for the protection of antiquities.
All the necessary actions and studies must be promoted immediately in order to declare the most «sensitive» settlements as traditional settlements.
All caves and other geological formations in the area should be identified and protection zones should be established. All the relevant information, together with the underground routes of the caves, should be recorded on a single cartographic background.
The definition of the protection zones of the water abstraction points should be promoted as soon as possible, with the preparation of the relevant Special Hydrogeological Studies.
All of the above must be launched anyway by the Municipality of Sitia, in view of the immediately planned and subsidised with European funds preparation of the new Local Spatial Framework that will replace the GSP of Sitia and the SPSPs of Itanos, Lefki and Analipsi.
Finally, regardless of the course of all the above, the residents of the area must remain united and determined to confront directly and decisively any attempt by the company and anyone else to break their solid front by exploiting the economic difficulties of ordinary people or their political and municipal preferences. Our struggle is not over. We have won a great battle in a great war that will only end when the region is fully protected from all these «unwanted friends». It must be understood by all that the fight against the plans of this company and its ilk is first and foremost about the future of our children.
In the end they have to go and not us and the sooner they understand that the better for everyone.».
