The administrative court rejected the appeal for summary proceedings filed by Eau de Paris against the work to extend oil drilling in Seine-et-Marne.
The Melun administrative court rejected this Friday, May 17, Eau de Paris’s appeal for interim relief against the work to extend an oil drilling in Seine-et-Marne, referring the question to a later decision, considering that it does not present an emergency nature.
The company Bridge Énergies has operated an oil concession in the south of Seine-et-Marne called the “Nonville concession” since 2009, to which the government granted an extension at the end of last year, increasing it from 10 to 53 km2. . A decree dated January 30 from the prefect of Seine-et-Marne authorizes the start of the work.
Paris town hall contests the order
This decree is contested before the administrative courts by the Paris town hall, via its operator Eau de Paris. It considers that this work presents risks of pollution of two of its drinking water catchments located near the oil site, in Villeron and Villemer, which contribute to the capital’s water supply.
However, the drilling work “would not be likely to begin before May 2025, due to the current unavailability of part of the equipment necessary for their completion”, indicated the administrative court of Melun in a press release. .
“Given the importance of this deadline, (the court) considered that the request for suspension presented by Eau de Paris was not justified by an emergency situation,” he added, the emergency being a necessary condition for ruling in summary proceedings, an express procedure.
This rejection is motivated by a question of procedure, “without ruling on the existence of a serious doubt as to the legality of the contested order”, clarified the court.
The decision rendered in several months
The file will now be the subject of an investigation. A decision on the merits should be rendered in several months.
Until then, “Eau de Paris will remain vigilant and if necessary will introduce a new suspensive summary in the event of the start of work”, reacted to AFP its president Dan Lert, whose objective “remains the definitive abandonment of these drilling projects” which “threaten the water sources of Seine-et-Marne and Paris”.
The company Bridge Énergies holds a concession to exploit the current deposit until 2034 and already operates three wells, opened between 2012 and 2014.
She obtained from the State to open two others, with a depth of 1,500 m, following a public inquiry.
