The Basque Government will appeal to the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz to obtain authorization for a gas survey
- In December the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz refused permission from the hydrocarbons company SHESA to conduct a survey at the Subijana Armentia-2 well. The society of the Basque Government wants to investigate the existence of gas in the well, which has been burnt down. The mayor of the town, Gorka Uraran, has stated that he will defend the decision of the Donostian council.
SHESA submitted in November 2020 a request for research to detect the presence of gas in the Armentia-2 well. In December the technicians of the area of the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz ruled that the General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU) does not authorize the carrying out of surveys to investigate the existence of gas and the city council refused the request. The Minister for Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantxa Tapia, said on the same day that she did not rule out going to the courts against the municipal decision. Today it is known that it will. The Post has announced that SHESA has filed an appeal "immediately". “You are not talking about exploiting the gas wells, but about exploring to see if there is that resource, how much it is and if in the future it is possible to access it. It’s essential to know what’s in the subsoil, regardless of whether it’s going to be removed,” Tapia said.
PNV and Gorka Uraran
The PNV remained in defense of natural gas extraction only in December. In a historic decision, the General Boards of Álava were against the exploitation of the gas raft in the Basque Country. The PNV voted against the motion, and the other groups, including the PSE, voted in favour. The City Council decision came a few days later. The mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Gorka Uraran, showed his disagreement in considering that the citizens have "right" to know whether there is gas or not, but he assured that he will respect the decision taken.
Interviewed at Euskadi Radio on Wednesday, the mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz has assured that he will continue to defend the decision of the City Hall: “The City Hall will not change its attitude and will continue to defend the supreme good of Vitoria-Gasteiz, that is, the general urban planning plan, which prohibits the exploitation of gas.”
Soil is a natural heritage of ecosystem values, functions and services, as well as water and air. However, millions of tonnes of land are eroded and landed each year in the Basque Country. It took hundreds or thousands of years for this soil to be created, but we could easily... [+]
The fungi that have attacked the insignis pine have turned the forestry of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa upside down. Total forestry, which has changed without major ups and downs in almost a century, has been called into question by some worm mushrooms. More than Xixtrin, we will have... [+]
