The Conseil d’État has rejected a request to suspend the permit granted to the Envirolead group to install and operate a plant in Mons to manufacture lead from recycled materials.
The Council of State made the announcement on Friday.
While noting that the project at issue was a large-scale industrial one involving a sensitive activity, the Council felt that “it has not been demonstrated that the measures governing the operation of this plant do not adequately limit the occurrence of the alleged risks to the environment and public health.”
It also pointed out that the petitioners – a committee of local residents – had focussed their criticisms on the project's environmental impact study, whereas all the specialist bodies that issued opinions following this study gave favourable opinions, whose conditions were included in the permit.
These opinions and conditions were not challenged in a sufficiently substantiated and credible manner by the committee in support of its request for suspension, the Council added.
The plant, to be located in the Ghlin-Baudour zoning area, is expected to process 150,000 tonnes of scrap materials into 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes of lead per year.
