Regional Secretariat for the Environment recommends measures to minimize bad odours in Prolacto

Sept. 8, 2021

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change visited today the facilities of Prolacto, meeting with the company's board of directors, in consequence of the complaints of the neighbouring residents regarding the bad odours verified as a consequence of the activity of that industrial unit.

Considering that, in the internal legal order, still does not exist a specific regulation on this matter, Alonso Miguel affirmed that until the entry into force of the specific legislation regarding the detection of the bad odours, "the inspecting authorities only can act by  inspecting and ensuring that the industrial units comply with the norms related to is operation, namely the ETARI – Estação de Tratamento de Águas Residuais Industriais (industrial waste water treatment plant)".

In this matter, within the scope of its assignments and competencies, since the end of 2018, the Regional Environmental Inspectorate carried out six inspective actions to the Prolacto's dairy factory, resulting from the accusations of bad odours. It was verified, in general, the conformity of the industrial activity with the established norms.

In the sequence of the legitimate claims of the population, the Regional Environmental Inspectorate did another inspective action in July, and the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Change also performed a supervising action at the end of August.

As a result of these actions, considering the impact on the quality of life and the well-being of the population, being necessary to find solutions to eliminate or minimize this problem, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change recommended the company for the immediate implementation of measures to minimize the diffuse emissions of odours, namely regarding the intervention on the storage tank of waste water.

In addition to a commitment by Prolacto to implement the measures recommended by the Regional Secretariat, this meeting also resulted in the guarantee, by the company, of a set of investments at the ETARI level, in the order of one million euros, to execute by the end of this year, which will significantly reduce the risk of bad odours’ emissions in the future.

In statements made at the end of the meeting, Alonso Miguel said he “noted the Prolacto's commitment to solving this problem”, ensuring that he will closely monitor this process, “in order to ensure the necessary compatibility of that industrial activity with the best interests of the population”.