The responsibility of the Cartagena City Council in the El Hondón

Ercros has appealed the judgment issued by the High Court of Justice of Murcia, on September 25, 2024, which upheld the legality of the contaminated land designation for El Hondón (Cartagena) as decided by the Regional Government of Murcia's Department of Environment in 2020.

In its appeal, Ercros denounces the City Council of Cartagena for not having carried out, for more than 20 years and despite its responsibility, any action to manage the waste located on the surface of the El Hondón site and allow the uncontrolled abandonment of new waste in the area.

The company recalls that the City Council is the majority owner of the land at El Hondón and that at the time, it deducted over 10 million euros from the purchase price of the land, specifically to cover the decontamination of the site, which is now being demanded from Ercros, resulting in blatant unjust enrichment.

The appeal argues that the regional government has unlawfully distorted and altered the legal framework for contaminated soil and waste management specifically to prevent the Cartagena City Council, as the holder of the waste for decades, from having to undertake the remediation of El Hondón.

Finally, Ercros notes that, by virtue of the actions undertaken by the Government of the Region of Murcia, the City Council will be the main beneficiary of this illegality; actions that are allowing the Council to evade its responsibility for waste management and transfer it to Ercros, thereby making Ercros fully responsible for the remediation of the land at El Hondón. The ultimate aim is for the Council to profit from the planned residential urban development without bearing the urban development costs associated with site preparation.

The company argues that the appealed judgment contradicts the provisions established in the law and that, if upheld, it would alter the legal framework for contaminated land, impacting numerous sites across Spain.