The Regional Government approved last Friday the new Integrated Environmental Authorization (AAI) which charts the course towards the definitive sealing of the Nerva landfill. This resolution strengthens environmental guarantees in the area and ensures that the managing company, DSM, assumes the full cost of sealing and subsequent monitoring.
The landfill, initially authorized in 1996 and expanded in 2003, received an AAI in 2008 that doubled its capacity. After the exploitation of Cell I ended in 2005, its sealing was not demanded until 2021, at which point closure and landscape restoration were ordered. A report from February 2023 suggested that Cells II and III might have exceeded their capacity, initiating a sanctioning procedure and an order for immediate cessation of waste disposal.
Following objections from DSM, which claimed a remaining capacity of 970,000 tons, the Junta requested new studies that reduced this figure to 780,000 tons. Although no infringement was confirmed, a resolution from February 2025 obliged the company to submit an updated project for reconformation, sealing, and closure, along with a post-closure monitoring plan.
To date, over 118,000 square meters have been closed and sealed, equivalent to 11.8 hectares currently undergoing landscape restoration. In 2021, 61,571.91 square meters (21% of the total) were definitively sealed, corresponding to Cell I. By 2025, the sealed area reached 118,571.91 square meters (40% of the total), adding an additional 57,000 square meters from Cells II and III. Currently, 56.7% of the non-hazardous waste cells' surface area is closed.
The new authorization, approved this Friday, incorporates the ordered closure project, adapts the facility to current regulations, and establishes four phases to complete reconformation and sealing. According to sources from the Regional Executive, the design improves rainwater management, reduces erosive risks, facilitates drainage and stability, and optimizes landscape integration. Responsibility and cost fall entirely on DSM, which must execute the sealing, restoration, and maintain environmental monitoring for at least 30 years.
The Junta emphasizes that an ordered closure ensures the company assumes environmental liabilities, preventing costs from falling on the Administration in case of activity abandonment.
