The administrative court of Rennes has set a four-month deadline for the State to strengthen the fight against green algae in Brittany, in an unprecedented decision issued on Tuesday July 18. This is the first time that the State has been imposed a forced deadline to further combat this phenomenon which has poisoned part of the Breton coast for decades.
Within four months, the State will have to act “by adopting measures of immediate application, controlled in their execution, to limit nitrogen fertilization and appropriate management of agricultural land”, it is specified in the decision. consulted by Agence France-Presse.
“The State takes note of this judgment and will provide the necessary answers, while continuing, through the various existing mechanisms, its action to combat green algae, a major issue in Brittany”, reacted the prefect of the Brittany region. , Emmanuel Berthier, in a press release. “State services are examining the conditions for a possible appeal of these judgments,” Mr. Berthier also underlined.
The court has just sent “an important signal” to the State which will have to “move up a gear”, rejoiced in a press release the Water and Rivers of Brittany association, which had seized the court.
Act “up to environmental challenges”
“Although they mobilize significant public funds”, the actions to fight against green tides “carried out by the public authorities for more than ten years, and based on the voluntary work of farms (…), have shown their limits. They are necessary but not sufficient”, writes the association, which is however concerned that “the number of State services available [for these checks] has been steadily declining for years”.
This decision “is an additional reason for the State to finally act up to the environmental, health and financial challenges posed by the proliferation of green algae in Brittany”, estimated Francis Nativel, the president of Water and rivers.
Naturally present in the sea, green algae become a problem when they proliferate under the effect of nitrogen flows coming mainly from agriculture and dumped into the sea by the rivers that flow into it. These algae become dangerous when they decompose because they emit hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a potentially deadly gas in high doses.