Ecologists denounce the methanizer project in Bozouls

“A disproportionate factory” ; “a biogas plant that does not fit into a territorial and local approach” ; “a project that leaves little room for local actors”. The representatives of the Aveyron of Europe Ecology Les Verts (EELV) recently denounced the project to build a methaner to be installed in the town of Bozouls. The latter also support the associations, in particular the Causse Comtal Committee, the “Bozouls, a village” collective, the farmers and inhabitants who oppose the project.

We remind you that the quantity of substrates envisaged by the feasibility study is equal to 45,000 tons of manure, 6,000 tons of green waste, 4,000 tons of plants from silos and spent grain and 4,000 tons of cives (intermediate crops for energy purposes).

Threat to water resources

“We must clarify that obviously we are not against renewable energies. However, this project is too important. On the contrary, we want the implementation of projects suited to the territory and the size of the farms. We must also be of general and non-speculative interest”explains Léon Thébault, EELV contact person in Aveyron. Even the elected officials of EELV point the finger at it “significant risk of soil, water and karst network pollution”. And at the same time they denounce the “excessive pumping threatening water resources: a well is planned at the site to pump 2,200m3 of water per year”. And then, with “260 tons of inputs per day, which would be transported by truck in a radius of more than 40 km, which is three times more than the recommendation of Adem (Agency for the Environment and Energy Management), we find that the data to this project is really excessive”.

In detail, the shareholding structure of SAS Métha Causses, which carries out the project, is made up of 79.5% of the capital of agricultural activities, local authorities up to 10%, companies for 10% and citizens for 0, 5%. As for the shareholders of SAS Biever, they are distributed as follows: 60% Métha Causses and 40% of Engie Biogaz.

The mayor of the commune of Bozouls, Jean-Luc Calmelly, explained that the city council had discussed this topic for a long time before giving “favorable opinion with reservations”. “There are two ways to do it, either you get agitated to cultivate fear, or, and this is the one I chose, you question yourself. Today we question ourselves about its dimension because the project has evolved, its scope , a well when groundwater supplies the Alrance and the Dourdou, which is a real problem regarding drought, the soundness of the legal structure, the impact of road traffic”, He explained.