In Santa Palomba, in the area identified for the construction of the Rome waste-to-energy plant, it will not be possible to proceed with the digging of wells for water withdrawal. This is the recent and decisive position taken by the Lazio Region which, in fact, has sparked a new clash between the supporters of the work – primarily the PD and the Municipality of Rome – and the opposition front, made up of local committees, M5s, representatives of neighboring municipalities and, on the front line, the Green and Left Alliance (AVS).
Regional ban for water protection
The ban came with a regional resolution approved last October 14, which annulled a previous act. The main motivation is the need to protect the water resources of the area, especially in light of the massive water consumption that a plant intended to burn 600 thousand tons of undifferentiated waste per year would require.
Filiberto Zaratti, AVS deputy, expressed great satisfaction, underlining how the Region has “finally listened to the environmentalist front”. Zaratti recalled the Regional Water Protection Plan, signed years earlier during the Marrazzo council, which suspends new concessions for surface or underground water withdrawals in critical areas and in those protecting the lakes of the Castelli Romani. According to AVS, the provision would prevent Acea, the concessionaire, from building the four deep wells that were used to cool the plant. This, for environmentalists and Rifondazione Comunista, represents a “first, important stop” to a project considered harmful and not compatible with the hydrogeological fragility and water scarcity of the area, as also highlighted by the critical situation of Lake Albano.
The water sources of the project: a “back-up” removed
But were the wells really indispensable for the project wanted by Mayor Gualtieri in his capacity as extraordinary commissioner? In the waste-to-energy plant plan, the water supply is mainly provided through three sources: rainwater, waste water coming out of the Albano Laziale purifier (managed by Acea) and the condensation of water vapor coming from boiler fumes. The construction of the wells was envisaged as an “integration” measure, to be used only in case of emergency or as a back-up for greater operational safety. With the regional ban, this last option is no longer viable.
For the PD and the Municipality the project does not stop
Despite the jubilation of the opponents, the Democratic Party promptly responded, downplaying the impact of the regional decision and attacking AVS for what it defines as the spread of “fake news”.
The democratic group leader of the PD in Lazio commented that “removing technical aspects from the rules will not transform his expectations into facts,” reassuring that “The process of the waste-to-energy plant is following all the authorization procedures required by the rules”, such as the Single Regional Authorization Provision (PAUR).
Along the same lines, the Councilor for Agriculture, Environment and Waste Cycle of Rome Capital, Sabrina Alfonsi, issued a press release to reiterate that “There is no risk of stopping the construction of the Santa Palomba plant”. The Councilor explained that the PAUR authorization procedure “is regularly underway” and that the Region’s report on the impossibility of building the wells, which had a back-up function for emergencies, was already a known circumstance. Alfonsi concluded that the concessionaire “has already guaranteed that the wells in question are not indispensable to the plant, providing alternative solutions for its water supply which will be illustrated in the counter-deductions and additions, as normally happens in PAUR procedures.”
In summary, while the environmentalist front sees the regional decision as a success in protecting water and a potential block to the plan, the supporters of the work reiterate that the waste-to-energy plant – despite having to give up the back-up of the wells – will continue its authorization process according to the rules, thanks to the alternative water sources already foreseen.
