INERCO, strategic environmental consultant for Fertiberia in the project to restore the phosphogypsum piles in Huelva

INERCO participated as an expert environmental consultant in the drafting of the ‘Restore20/30’plan, the Fertiberia engineering project for the environmental restoration of the areas of Huelva occupied by the phosphogypsum piles, which was presented publicly to the Huelva media last October.

This initiative, which is a pioneer in Spain and a world leader due to the characteristics of the restoration project itself, will carry out the total encapsulation of the phosphogypsums to avoid any contact with the exterior and the restoration and revegetation of the land to integrate it into a marsh environment, once the water inside the pile and the water infiltrated by the rain have been drained. In total, action will be taken on an area of 720 hectares, with an investment of more than 65 million euros over the next ten years.

Last October, the ‘Restore 20/30’ plan received a favorable Environmental Impact Statement from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, based on the Environmental Impact Study developed and processed by INERCO. In addition, the project had already been approved by the Directorate General for the Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea and has been ratified by reports from the Sub director General for Waste of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Geological and Mining Institute (IGME).

INERCO has been one of the key technical advisors throughout this process, managing the definition and processing of improvements and the Environmental Monitoring Plan with the Ministry for Ecological Transition. As Javier Hidalgo, Head of INERCO’s Environment Department, acknowledges, “the solution to the existing problem is environmental and obtaining the Environmental Impact Statement and the endorsement of these bodies shows that the project presented is the best possible”.

Along these lines, Javier Hidalgo highlights the important challenge that this project has represented, “with great significance for Huelva and its industry, with which INERCO has been working closely for more than three decades in favor of sustainable development, and initiatives such as this ‘Restore 20/30‘ Plan exemplify this concept, which is so important for today’s industry”.

In addition, INERCO advises and collaborates with Fertiberia in contacts and informative meetings with the other stakeholders related to the project, in order to make progress in obtaining the other necessary environmental authorizations, as well as in providing the environment with simple and clear technical information, which makes the environmental improvement that the project will bring about visible.

The work of INERCO’s Environment Division in the ‘Restore 20/30’ Plan is in addition to INERCO’s extensive experience in the environmental field in both Europe and Latin America, “where we are a key ally not only for industry but also for public authorities when it comes to setting up projects of social significance in the field of basic infrastructure”, said Javier Hidalgo.