The waters of a lake (illustration) -

S. Hermann & F. Richter / Pixabay

  • In the Lot-et-Garonne, the construction of the immense lake of Caussade is causing much ink to flow.

  • The two agricultural officials who are building it illegally have already been sentenced to prison.

  • This Tuesday, the administrative justice must indicate whether the prefect of the department was right to oppose its digging.

The famous Lac de Caussade continues to make waves.

It is this Tuesday that the administrative court of appeal of Bordeaux will say whether or not the prefect of Lot-et-Garonne was right to cancel the decree which authorized the construction of this artificial water reservoir of 920,000 m³ located near the village Pinel-Hauterive.

At the end of May 2018, the representative of the State had indeed authorized the construction of this work.

One kilometer long, 378 m wide and flanked by a 12.5 m high dike, it must block the Tolzac valley to irrigate more than twenty farms specializing in hazelnuts, prune, beet seed… But five months later, under pressure from François de Rugy, then Minister of Ecological Transition, and his colleague from Agriculture, Stéphane Travert, the Prefect backtracked and canceled her decision.

Anger from Serge Bousquet-Cassagne and Patrick Franken, respectively president and vice-president of the Lot-et-Garonne chamber of agriculture.

At the head of a team of farmers, they immediately launch the work in the most total illegality.

The lake is finished but not the procedure

Today the lake is finished and completely filled.

The guerrillas have moved into the judicial field.

For having played the builders, the two agricultural representatives who militate "for a regularization of the dam, because there is no other solution" were heavily condemned last July by the criminal court of Agen at 9 and 8 months in prison.

They appealed.

In the meantime, the farmers had challenged the annulment of the order authorizing the dam before the administrative court of Agen.

Without success.

They appealed and it is this decision which must be rendered this Tuesday.

During the hearing, the public rapporteur gave an unfavorable opinion to this request, considering that this withholding was "not compatible with the regional plan for the management of water resources (Sdage) and with the European directive relating to the 'water and aquatic environments'.

Justice

Agen: They built an illegal lake, a prison for two agricultural leaders

Society

Lot-et-Garonne: The authorities' plan to get out of the crisis on Lake Caussade

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