During this day, the Second Environmental Court decided to annul the resolution of the Ministry of the Environment that declared the urban wetland “Estuario Los Molles”. For this reason, it was ordered to delimit the area again and the observations raised by a group of local residents must be taken into consideration.
According to Exempt Resolution 1,160 of 2021, “the background provided by the parties in the period legally established for such purposes, nor was it sufficiently motivated, in particular to the final decision of the delimitation of two polygons that make up the declared urban wetland” was not adequately considered.
It should be noted that the claim was presented by neighbors who are grouped in the citizen movement Cabildo Abierto Los Molles; and partially by Inmobiliaria Lilén S.A.
Thus, the new delimitation process must take into account the aspects expressed in the considerative part of the judgment “with special emphasis on the hydrological connection and sustainability of the wetland, an element considered in the criteria for sustainability provided for in article 3 in relation to that required by article 8 of both of the Urban Wetlands Regulation”, as indicated in the ruling.
Similarly, the Court decided to maintain the precautionary measure of paralysis of all construction activity within the wetland polygon, until the new procedure for the declaration of the Los Molles urban wetland is completed.
As has been ordered in previous judgments, the ruling noted that the declaration of urban wetland “does not deny owners the possibility of continuing to exercise their rights over the lots involved, only their status as a wetland is evident, for which they must raise environmental standards to comply with this new requirement.”
Background
Considering the additional information that was provided by the residents of Los Molles and by the Real Estate Agents, the Court declared that all the observations have to do with aspects or issues related to the declaration of the Los Molles urban wetland and that they could affect its delimitation.
That is why the ruling emphasizes that a broad scope must be chosen and it must be explained in a well-founded way how these have been weighted by the Ministry of the Environment. “This, given that this is the only opportunity that those interested in the declaration of urban wetland have to participate in the process in question” according to the sentence.
In addition, it is pointed out that the Ministry’s action leads to determine that the resolution claimed, which declared the urban wetland, suffers from a defect of legality due to lack of due substantiation by not addressing the observations raised by the complainants or providing a reasoned response to the additional background presented in the period contemplated in article 9 of the Urban Wetlands Regulation.
It should be noted that Humedal Urbano Estero Los Molles belongs to the Quilimarí-Petorca coastal basin, located in the commune of La Ligua, Valparaíso Region. It is the habitat of species such as black-necked swans, great heron, large jergon duck, small jergon duck, tagua, coipo and olive mouse. It is a nesting site for resident birds and shelter for migratory birds.
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