By being rejected by the administrative court last May, the opponents of the drilling project of the multinational Alma on agricultural land from Castillonne to Montagnac (Hérault) have the feeling of having lost a battle but not the war.
Since then, they have redoubled their efforts in the hope that the town hall will reverse course without waiting for the results of the ongoing appeal procedures (probably in 2025). On October 13, at the initiative of the “Veille eau grain” collective, around a hundred opponents of the bottling plant project gathered. The kind of pressure tactics to use, according to MP Sylvain Carrière who supports this fight « earthen pot versus iron pot ». « This type of popular mobilization worked in Tarn against a similar project which was suspended »positive the Insoumis deputy from Hérault.
He qualifies « d’aberration » the choice of the Montagnac town hall to have voted to the Compagnie Générale des Eaux de Source (CGES), a subsidiary of the Alma group, the sale of a classified plot of 3,700m² for barely 37,000 euros, i.e. a capital gain of only 7,000 euros 4 years after purchasing the agricultural land from Safer. « They have clearly sold off this land which is worth much more with the drilling to be exploited. » As for the argument made by the mayor according to which his town of 4,000 souls would not have had the financial means to manage this geothermal lodge alone, the elected official brushes it aside. « Maintaining a borehole costs 300 000 annual euros. It was not insurmountable, you just had to ask for help from the Department or the Region. »
At the end of October, the association obtained new support: that of the UFC Que Choisir of Hérault. In a press release, the consumer association declares to fight the Castillonne project, described as « nonsense ». First on the economic level. « Tap water is 65 times cheaper than bottled water. We are against the privatization of water »writes Gilbert Rieu, the president of UFC 34. Then health. « The quality of water contained in plastic bottles is contested because it is filled with microparticles which circulate in the body and can disrupt the functioning of our organs. » And finally environmental. « Bottled water harms the environment with 360 times more greenhouse effect with more than 150 000 tonnes of packaging per year. Plastic degrades into microplastics which pollute soil, water and air. Eight million tonnes of plastic bottles are thrown into the oceans every year », lists the UFC 34 president.
For his part, Vincent Lapasset continues to put together the pieces of the puzzle in the hope of unmasking what he calls « deception ». The former treasurer of “Veille au grain” believes on the one hand that in September 2022 then February 2023, municipal elected officials did not vote for the sale of the four plots knowingly. « The estimate made by the Estates was not presented to them before they made their decision. » The active member believes that « this site is worth between 1.5 and 2 million euros ».
Vincent Lapasset is also demanding explanations from Safer, guilty in his eyes of « to have stuffed oneself » via a « sleight of hand ». « Simple agricultural land sells for 72 cents per m². These were sold for 8.1 euros to the town hall in 2019. It is therefore the underground work, an exceptional drilling of 1.5 km, which was actually transferred »concludes Vincent Lapasset. For several weeks, he has been calling on Safer to request « resolution of the sale » on the grounds that « the buyer undertakes to respect the specifications ». Please note that this land must remain agricultural for 10 years. Which will not be the case if a drilling and a bottling plant are built.
According to “Veille eau grain”, the future factory could manufacture 1.6 million bottles per day which would be exported via 80 trucks. « This will increase the artificialization of soils »fears Vincent Lapasset. He recalls that around thirty nearby wine farms do not have running water and regularly suffer from drought. « With an average flow of 100 m3/hour, the drilling could supply 20 000 people with water of very pure quality. »
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