This is a conflict on water salinization in the Llobregat River. The potash mine is about 70 kms to the north of the city of Barcelona by the Llobregat and Cardener Rivers. This is one of the biggest potash mines in the world. Excavation started in the 1920s. It became a state company, and later a private company, Iberpotash SA, from Israel. Since 1977 in Cogulló, Sallent, a salt mountain has been growing that by 2013 is now 500 m high and occupies 47 ha. The journalist Antonio Cerrillo and the lawyer Sebastià Estradé (in La Vanguardia, 15 April 2013) explain that this is a major ecological risk for Catalonia because the rainfall carries the salt away to the Llobregat River. The exploitation of postah consists in separating the potash from the salt, which becomes waste. Moreover, in Sallent, some parts of the village (near the train station) have suffered subsidence (and shaking of the ground) because of underground mining, and have been abandoned. Many environmental and citizen groups, such as L'Alzina, MontSalat, Ecologistes en Acció, Grup de Defensa del Ter, Martorell Viu, Salvem el Gaià, Prou Sal, Xarxa per una Nova Cultura de l’Aigua y Aigua és Vida have complained against the 40 million tons salt mountain that keeps growing. Barcelona has been forced to install desalination plants in the Llobregat River, paid for by citizens through water invoicing. There are big environmental liabilities amounting to 200 million euros that Iberpotash refuses to face. The local group Prou Sal de Sallent tried to negotiate solutions with the Catalan Water Agency, to no avail. Complaints because of salinization of the Llobregat River down to its mouth next to Barcelona had started already in 1930-31, from inhabitants of towns next to the river, because of the bad quality of the water for domestic use and also for irrigation. (See less) |
This is a conflict on water salinization in the Llobregat River. The potash mine is about 70 kms to the north of the city of Barcelona by the Llobregat and Cardener Rivers. This is one of the biggest potash mines in the world. |
| Name of conflict: | Potasas del Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain |
| Country: | Spain |
| State or province: | Catalonia |
| Location of conflict: | Súria y Sallent/Balsareny |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Mineral Ores and Building Materials Extraction |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Water access rights and entitlements Tailings from mines |
| Specific commodities: | Water Potash |
| Project details | Iberpotash (of the ICL group) is planning to invest 600 million euros in the Salt Mountain for turning it into a commercial resource. The Catalan government supports this plan. Environmentalists are sceptical. The Supreme Court of Catalonia took away the environmental license from Iberpotash in 2013 but the Catalan government has appealed against this decision. In 2014, the might be a prosecution of some directors of Iberpotash for environmental crime. |
| Project area: | 500 |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | 600,000,000 |
| Type of population | Urban |
| Start of the conflict: | 1929 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Iberpotash from Israel |
| Relevant government actors: | Catalan Goverment, Catalan Water Agency, Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya, Dpto. Medio Ambiente |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | MontSalat, AAVV La Rampinya, Ecologistes en Acció, Martorell Viu, Prou Sal a Sallent, Xarxa per una Nova Cultura de l’Aigua, Aigua és Vida, L'Alzina |
| Intensity | MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization) |
| Reaction stage | Mobilization for reparations once impacts have been felt |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Local ejos Local government/political parties Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Local scientists/professionals |
| Forms of mobilization: | Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Development of alternative proposals Involvement of national and international NGOs Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Appeals/recourse to economic valuation of the environment |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Mine tailing spills Potential: Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Waste overflow |
| Other Environmental impacts | Salinization of water courses |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…) |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Loss of livelihood Potential: Loss of landscape/sense of place, Other socio-economic impacts, Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors |
| Other socio-economic impacts | Bad quality of water for domestic use and for irrigation because of salinization of rivers |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Court decision (undecided) Technical solutions to improve resource supply/quality/distribution |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | The Salt Mountain (mine tailings from potash exploitation) keeps growing, and salinization of rivers downstream continues. Environmental liabilities fall on the public sector and taxpayers. There might be a prosecution for environmental crimes (2014). |
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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| Contributor: | Joan Martinez Alier y Talia Waldron |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 1296 |