It is certainly a symbolic sentence which was pronounced this Friday against the CAGSC: a suspended fine. However, it is indeed a condemnation: the urban community is found guilty of pollution of the sea, from the Capesterre-Belle-Eau treatment plant, an expensive piece of equipment, erected under the mandate of Lucette Michaux-Chevry, but which never worked. This court decision is a warning for the current operator in charge of sanitation in Guadeloupe.
The Grand Sud Caraïbe Agglomeration Community (CAGSC) was found guilty, this Friday, November 22, 2024, by the Basse-Terre criminal court, of dumping harmful substances into the sea, from the wastewater treatment plant in the town of Capesterre -Beautiful Water.
The community was sentenced to a fine of 375,000 euros, suspended; she will therefore not pay this amount. This symbolic sentence must be displayed on the premises of this public intermunicipal cooperation establishment (EPCI), for two months.
It turns out that today the station from which the misdeeds were observed is the property of the Joint Water and Sanitation Management Union of Guadeloupe (SMGEAG), manager of the site since its installation, in September 2021.
The suspended fine is imposed to sanction the CAGSC, while taking into account the Guadeloupean population, who cannot be penalized for the offenses committed by the CAGSC, by the payment of a heavy fine.
Extract from the criminal decision – 11/22/2024
From 1is February 2018 to August 31, 2021, the CAGSC was guilty of pollution in the Atlantic Ocean. The criminal decision refers in particular to “jet, spill or flow of harmful substance into groundwater, surface water or the sea having harmful effects on health, flora or fauna“.
The court emphasizes that the wastewater treatment plant in the town of Capesterre-Belle-Eau was left abandoned. The operation of this installation, which was non-compliant and which discharged polluted water, led to a prefectural formal notice, dated November 12, 2018, which was never acted upon.
The complaint comes from two citizens, Alain Niberon and Louis-Noël Vial, as well as the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals (ASPAS).
In the civil action, the first two plaintiffs were dismissed as to their request for compensation for moral damage.
On the other hand, a referral was ordered on civil interests, with regard to the CAGSC and the ASPAS, before the Basse-Terre criminal court, on April 10, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.
This file is part of the legacy of the former president of the Urban Community, which now falls to Thierry Abelli; the alleged facts date back to a period prior to the mandate of the new president of the EPCI.
It was in fact Lucette Michaux-Chevry who had the Capesterre wastewater treatment plant built in 2013, for a total amount of more than 13 million euros; equipment that never worked. The one we nicknamed “give me fer“had itself already been the subject of a heavy conviction, in December 2020, in particular for acts of”discharge of harmful substance into groundwater, surface water or the sea“.
I only became aware of this situation at the time of my summons to court, well after the transfer of “water and sanitation” jurisdiction in 2021. In addition, the formal notices issued by the prefecture, at this subject, were only communicated to me retrospectively, making any immediate corrective action impossible.
Thierry Abelli, president of the CAGSC
However, Thierry Abelli has not shied away from the responsibilities incumbent upon him today.
During the hearing, I made a point of recognizing the reality of the facts, while explaining to the magistrates the particular context in which the CAGSC finds itself today. I particularly highlighted the serious budgetary constraints of our community, which do not allow it to bear a heavy financial penalty, and stressed that we are no longer competent for the management of sanitation.
Thierry Abelli, president of the CAGSC
The current president of the community welcomes the court's decision: the reprieve, “comes as a relief to our already fragile finances“.
This decision nevertheless reminds us of the importance of rigorous management and scrupulous monitoring of files inherited from the past. I call for collective mobilization so that such situations do not happen again in the future. My commitment remains to work with transparency and responsibility in the service of the interests of our territory.
Thierry Abelli, president of the CAGSC
This Friday's court decision can be considered as a warning to the leaders of SMGEAG: there is now jurisprudence on the subject, in a territory where there is much to say about wastewater treatment.
