The 22 companies that (legally) release water in exception

There are 22 companies in the Province of Varese which have some water outlets subject to exceptions with respect to treatment policies. A group of committees born in Castellanza has recently protested against these exceptions, asking that they are all prohibited. This is a radical request, not coming from more well known environmental groups, but from basic committees that report to initiatives like the No Tav, No Pedemontana, No Elcon, No Mous. Labels aside, are the exemptions legal?

We asked the Province to tell us how are things, and here’s what they responded. Yes, it is all legal. The purification exemptions, in reality, are procedures agreed with local authorities and are regulated by law. They are guaranteed by the Province, in particular after an investigation, that passes before the conference of services with all the involved institutions, starting with the Region, and then by specific assessments of the cases that the "ecology sector" analyses one by one. There are exceptions that are very small, and these don’t cover all types of drainage elements, but also only for a component that for example could be this: "Exception up to 50 milligrams per litre of nitrate nitrogen". Water discharges are not however released directly into the rivers, but in public collectors. What is the reason for such exemptions? It is basically an elasticity in the application of the regulations. Many companies have old plants, built before the adaptation of laws. Asking them to redo all the systems could even lead to closure or to excessive costs. For this, one establishes a virtuous path with these companies until, in a certain number of years, they can adapt the standards.

SOME CASES 

Some examples? Carlsberg Italy of Induno Olona works in a plant that began in the 1800s.  It has an exemption which expires in 2018, on 4 components, and it releases in the Pravaccio Purifier of Varese (Iper zone, on the river Olona).

The authorisation Aia (integrated ambient authorisation) is granted by the Province but with the favourable opinion of the ambient authority(Ato). The duration varies and is linked to various causes. The Tintoria Crespi Giovanni in Busto Arsizio, for example, has obtained an exemption in 2007 also linked to the replacement of a boiler that is due 30 June 2014. The former Avir of Origgio has an exemption for a single component. Among the big companies there are the Lamberti of Albizzate, Perstorp and Chemisol of Castellanza, Goglio of Daverio, all authorised and with the water flow monitored between the factory and the purifier, but with specific derogations on certain components.