River Salt panwhich flows for ten kilometers at a time Very urban valley and flows into the sea in between City of Sant’Angelo And Montesilvanohas continued to suffer from pollution for decades as demonstrated, among other things, by the abandonment of a wildlife oasis in the Saline estuary managed by WWF. The cause? Documented. That spilled “illegal and anomalous, very dangerous”, plus the leachate coming from the former landfill Carmine Villabuilt right near the river. Throw awayclosed in 1994 but is still waiting reclaimed. Therefore, it was confiscated for the second time in nine years in early November in an investigation involving six suspects eliminating reclamation.
History of the waterway in the report Ministry of Environmentbut also from Harp And Art (Environmental Protection Agency) defined as “the longest linear landfill in Italy”, with i waste buried until five meters deepbut also spills along its flow, especially in treatment terminalit is old and complex. It is worrying that in March 2003 the Ministry of the Environment included the “Saline-Alento River” on the list of sites of national interest (SIN), for reclamation purposes, and then in January 2013 it was included on the list of sites of regional importance (SIR).
Nothing new. On November 18, 1997 Deputy Prosecutor of the Pescara District Court, Pasquale Firmianiin a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the waste cycle and related illicit activities, stated that “the situation Salt pan this is very serious”. A situation caused by consortium cleaners Montesilvano where “persistent and so-called anomalous output is documented, highly dangerouswhich goes beyond potential plant forcing to open the latter and, therefore, allowing the waste to flow directly into the river.”
In 28 years they have also followed each other country allocation And regional, investigations, reports and complaints by authorized bodies. Of course projects. However, there has been no concrete action. Despite the fact that in 2006 ARTA confirmed the presence of leachate flows, increased sulfate, significant increases in chromium, nickel and organic substances downstream of the former landfill. Meanwhile in 2009 Art check whether the limits set for the river have been exceeded on the seabed facing the river mouth leadThat nickel, That cadmium and it Mercury. The situation is not improving.
So in April 2016 the judge conducted a preliminary examination of Pescara Court seized a 300 thousand cubic meter landfill covering an area of 21 thousand square meters, created at the end of the seventies. Growing up throwing trash “in the wasteland,” as they say administrative documents“without waterproof layer”. Confiscation was deemed necessary “because the condition of the site indicates poor management of the landfill which is causing serious degradation, with damage to the surrounding environment: sinking inin considerable quantities on the right side of the river bed, due to the slope of the land, joining the main flow of the Saline, flowing directly into the sea”. In June 2016 they were attributed to Development and Cohesion Fund 2014-2020 ten million euros for the completion of the characterization, permanent security and reclamation of the SIT “Saline and Alento Rivers” and the SIT “Chieti scalo”.
Until July 2017, ARPA detected a leachate leak from the downstream slope of the landfill site. In January 2018, an updated schedule of relevant interventions was sent to the Ministry. In February 2018 the Region adopted a project proposal Proposal for safety measures. “I want my first initiative here to support the candidacy Marcus Marsilio to the president of the Abruzzo Region, at the mouth of the river Salt pan to Montesilvanoto talk about concrete topics,” claimed Giorgia Meloni in December 2018. Adding: “This is nice symbol from development possibilities and the rejection of development of land such as Abruzzo, a beautiful region experiencing a dramatic environmental emergency”.
Funds of 10 million euros from 2016 to June 2021 are considered insufficient to finance the two reclamations.l Waste Management Services from Region. In February 2024 Regional Council allocated 14,559,776.00 from the 2021-2027 Development and Cohesion Fund for “Permanent security of the former Villa Carmine public landfill included in the Saline and Alento River SIRs”, with estimated expenditures of 1,019,184.32 in 2025 and 4,367,932.80 in 2027. However, work has not yet begun. Waiting for cleaning Region in October 2023, the country financed groundwater pumping and discharge plant adaptation work to the tune of 1,832,350 million euros. Work began last March.
We come to the epilogue, for now. Investigation Pescara Prosecutor’s Office on these accusations negligence in the remediation of abandoned landfills Carmine Villa to Montesilvano and environmental pollution. An investigation following a party report Coast Guard leading to a seizure of the area and six warnings. Under investigation, as well as Regional officials and Arap (Regional Enterprise for Productive Activities), vice president of the regional council, responsible for Agriculture, Environment and Integrated Water Cycle, Emanuele Is Not Thoughtful League, regional council members, responsible for waste, Nicola Campitelli from FdI. Both, contacted by ilfattoquotidiano.it to express their position on the matter, they do not wish to make any statements. Meanwhile pollution continues. Undisturbed.
