The Ministry of Environment and Energy announced that a solution has been found to address the critical accumulation of waste, ensuring full legal compliance and environmental protection.
Last Friday, the beaches of Labruge in Vila do Conde and Angeiras Norte in Matosinhos were closed to swimming due to a “significant change” in the water quality of the Onda River, based on preliminary analysis results from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), “presumably associated” with discharges by the company Lactogal in Vila do Conde, Porto district.
The ban was lifted on Monday.
Today, the government statement highlights the resolution reached by the APA and Lactogal, with the immediate export of sludge, and notes that, “simultaneously, a process is underway to make a national treatment solution viable with licensed operators, ensuring a structural and sustainable medium-term response.”
“The Government aimed for an urgent, legally framed, and environmentally safe response to the critical situation of sludge accumulation at the Lactogal wastewater treatment plant in Vila do Conde, ensuring compliance with environmental standards and public health protection,” the press release states.
The statement also mentions that the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, met today with the administration of Lactogal, following the actions undertaken by the APA and the technical meetings held between the APA and the company on July 14 and 15.
“The Vila do Conde company was informed that the Government demands an immediate, responsible, and legally compliant solution, with the joint intention communicated to proceed with an operational short-term response,” the statement continues.
During the meeting, the Minister was informed about the decision to proceed with “the export of sludge to the Spanish company Agroamb Prodalt SL, duly licensed for the reception and treatment of this type of waste,” and that the operation “will proceed under the European waste classification ‘orange,’ fully complying with applicable community and national legislation on hazardous waste,” the statement adds.
The APA will ensure the necessary technical and administrative oversight, including support in completing and processing the Transboundary Waste Movement (MTR), legal and technical clarifications, and procedural agility to ensure an effective and environmentally safe response, the publication highlights.
Quoted in the statement, the minister remarked, “Environmental protection requires concrete decisions and a spirit of cooperation. This response reflects exactly that: a responsible and immediate solution, built through dialogue between Lactogal and the Portuguese Environment Agency.”
The Government also announced that, in parallel, the company “has begun identifying national operators capable of treating the wastewater treatment plant sludge, with the aim of developing an alternative, nationally based, and environmentally sustainable solution, reducing dependence on external solutions.”
The ministry informed that it “will continue to closely monitor the process, in coordination with the APA, ensuring compliance with all environmental obligations and promoting a more resilient, effective, and transparent waste management.”
