results of the flemish actions

Results of the Flemish Actions

	year	comments
The new Project of Fabricom at Gent (120,000 ton/year)	1999	Due a lot of actions against the Fabricom waste incinerator, in 1999, the green minister of environment Vera Dua refuge to give an environment licence for a fluidised bed incinerator at Gent. This waste incinerator would be build in the direct election surroundings of minister Vera Dua!!! She said the harbour of Gent was to much polluted. But in 2001 the same minister give licence for a similar fluidised bed incinerator of Indaver in the harbour from Antwerp (see below).

An existing medical waste incinerator and a now project for a medical waste incinerator at Tienen	2000-2001	On September 29th 2000 the green minister of environment Vera Dua has withdraw the environmental licence from the existing medical waste incinerator. In November 2001she refused to give an environment licence for a new medical waste incinerator.

The new Drogenbos project (200,000 ton/year)	2002	The project of Drogenbos is definitive suspended by court due the local action group.. On April 24th 2002 the association (VLABRAVER) that wanted to build a new incinerator at Drogenbos (with the cooperation of INDAVER) announce that they stop their project definitive.

The existing Miwa Waste incinerator at Sint-Niklaas (55,500 ton/year)	2001-2002	On December 24 2002 the MIWA waste-incinerator final CLOSED. On November 20 2001, the management of the MIWA waste incinerator in Sint-Niklaas Belgium is be sentenced on appeal to close the waste incinerator at last towards December 31 2002. This incinerator was operating since 1977 and has a licence until 2008. The judgement of the Belgium court of appeal is based on the precaution principle (that means not to wait for scientific consensus to take measures for specific dangers for the environment and for the public health) and on the basic principle of preventive acting (that means to take action to prevent environment damage rather than restore the damage afterwards). The management refuge explicitly to install a denox-filter installation and so they do not apply the best available techniques (BAT). The Belgium court of appeal says that this decision of the management forms a serious threat for a infringement of the environmental laws. The sentenced on appeal to close the waste incinerator is a tool to maintain the environmental law and to prevent the environment damage, with a view to the public interest, says the court of appeal. It's the first time in Belgium that a licensed firm has to close by the court of appeal due environmental violation of the law. There is also a penalty sentenced (€2,500 for each breach of the law) if the management don't want to close the incinerator after December 2002. The "Workgroup Environment and Health Sint-Niklaas" has also started in 1999 the procedure to prosecute the management. This procedure is still pending. Since 4 years the "Workgroup Environment and Health Sint-Niklaas" is fighting the incinerator. In spite of a own health report of 1998 of the impact of the waste incinerator (look www.milieugezondheid.be), the politicians and the government refuge till now to close the incinerator while the management is not respecting the Belgium laws. Since two years the green party in Belgium takes part of the government. The green party has the minister of health and environment. Nothing changed.

The new Indaver incinerator project at Beveren (466,000 ton/year)	2002	????????????????????????? On June 21 2002, in cooperation with a little regional environment organisation (ABLLO), the Flemish Platform Environment and Health submit the appeal by the supreme administrative court of Belgium to nullify the environmental licence for building a new waste incinerator at Beveren (Belgium) BY INDAVER. (cap. of 466,000 ton/year). This licence was given by our green Flemish environmental minister Vera Dua. On December 12 2002, the auditeur of the supreme administrative court of Belgium give advise to suspend Indavers environmental licence for building a new waste incinerator at Beveren (Belgium). The advice of the auditeur is based on the fact that the Flemish Health administration give negative advice to build the new waste incinerator. In her decision, the Flemish green minister of environment, confirmed the environmental licence permit. Hereby she didn't take in consideration the advice from the Flemish Health administration and the minister didn't explain why she didn't take in consideration the advice from the Flemish Health administration. So the decision of the minister was not motivated. And because of a lack of motivation the auditeur of the supreme administrative court of Belgium give advise to suspend Indavers environmental licence for building a new waste incinerator at Beveren (Belgium). In 99% of the cases the supreme administrative court of Belgium follows the advise given by the auditeur. We are expecting the final decision of the supreme administrative court of Belgium towards the springtime of 2003.