The legal struggle against geothermal power plant (GPP) projects in Orhanlı Village of Seferihisar has once again moved to the courtroom. The hearing of the lawsuit filed by 98 citizens and five institutions against the "EIA Positive" decision given by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change was held at Izmir 5th Administrative Court. The residents of Orhanlı Village also followed the hearing held after the expert examination, which was held for the second time in the vineyard belonging to Coşkun Akçil in Orhanlı and included evaluations in favor of the plaintiffs.
Lawyers of the plaintiffs and lawyers of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality were present at the hearing. While the plaintiff party requested the annulment of the "EIA Positive" decision, the Ministry's lawyers requested the rejection of the case.
“PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS WAS CONDUCTED DURING THE PANDEMIC”
Doğa Association Legal Advisor Atty., who represented the plaintiffs. Cem Altıparmak pointed out that the public participation process of the project was carried out during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Stating that a public participation meeting was held on April 21, 2021, Altıparmak said:
"This date was during the pandemic period. The Ministry was talking about bans on public use areas with the Covid circular, but the same Ministry attempted to hold the public participation meeting of the project during the pandemic period. This is a process in which the principle of objectivity was clearly violated. When I told the Izmir Environment and Urbanization Directorate that the public participation meeting coincided with the pandemic period, they were told, 'There is an instruction from the Ministry.'"
Recalling the legal processes carried out regarding the licenses previously granted in the region, Altıparmak said, "İZSU filed a lawsuit for the cancellation of the operating license. We also intervened in those cases. The licenses were canceled, but the Ministry and the Governorship re-issued the license."
Stating that the case should not be evaluated only on a project, Altıparmak said, "This case is a case for the public to have a say in environmental interventions. Orhanlı is an agricultural basin; there is a completely different geography here. I want to believe that you will decide to cancel the EIA."
MINISTRY: THE PROCESS WAS CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LEGISLATION
The lawyer of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change argued that the work was carried out in accordance with official procedures.
Stating that the pandemic period affected the entire society, the Ministry's lawyer said, "We all experienced the pandemic process, but there was no restriction on the ongoing legal processes. There is no provision in the previous reversal decision saying 'EIA should be cancelled'. There is a decision to conduct a more comprehensive examination. None of the decisions made are directly aimed at canceling the EIA."
Stating that the company made a new application after the previous cancellation decision, the Ministry's lawyer said that the necessary examination reports were submitted to the file.
“IF THESE PROJECTS EXIST, WE CANNOT AGRICULATE”
Headman of Orhanlı Village, Abdürrahim Ener, also spoke at the hearing and explained that the village people have been making a living by farming in the region for generations.
Ener said, "We have been living here for three or four generations. There are approximately 1700 households in our village. We have citizens who take their residence in their village and go to Izmir to work. We are fighting against hobby gardens and quarries. We are doing organic agriculture in our village. If these projects are implemented, we cannot do agriculture, our livelihood will be taken away from us."
Stating that Orhanlı is an important region in terms of plant diversity, Ener stated that they also saw the effects of geothermal activities in the surrounding area.
Ener said, "Geothermal activity started about 5 kilometers below. People moved from the surrounding area, we saw that the wild grass started to dry. These projects should be done in other suitable areas. If it is done here, we will sell our lands tomorrow and have to work in hotels and restaurants. On the contrary, we want to bring our citizens who left their villages back to their villages and bring them into production."
“OUR GRANDFATHER SAID, 'DON'T SELL THIS LAND, PRODUCE IT'”
Özge Uzunca Akçil, who lives in Orhanlı Village, also reacted to the geothermal project by stating that her family has been living and producing in the region for generations.
Akçil said, "I was born and raised in Orhanlı. Both our elder and grandfather, whom we lost at the age of 93, were born and raised in this village."
"They always told us, 'We had a hard time cultivating these places, do not sell these lands, produce them. I know animal husbandry, beekeeping and vaccination. I will teach these to my children. We say that the geothermal facility cannot be built here. We have been dealing with these for years where we should be producing. We all know how disturbed the people of the environment are by these projects.'
The people of Orhanlı demand that the "EIA Positive" decision be canceled, stating that the geothermal projects planned in the region pose a serious risk for agricultural areas, water resources, natural life and the future of the village. In its statement at the end of the hearing, the court panel stated that the decision would be notified to the parties after 1 month.
