Zalul : A GREAT VICTORY FOR ZALUL ASSOCIATION AND ACCO MUNICIPALITY!

A GREAT VICTORY FOR ZALUL ASSOCIATION AND ACCO MUNICIPALITY!
The Court in Haifa accepted Zalul's and Acco's plea and disqualified the permit to spill into the sea that was awarded to Miluban.

The Court decided that the Permit Committee must convene again to re-discuss awarding the permit to the polluting factory.

The Honorable Judge Itzhak Dar order Miluban and the Permit Committee to pay Zalul and Acco's Municipality a sum total of 30,000 NIS for legal expenses.

Zalul Association and the Municipality of Acco have been actively campaigning against the Permit Committee and the polluting factory, Miluban. Miluban, which was recently forbidden to continue flowing its sewage into the Naaman River as it has done for years, began flowing its sewage into the Mediterranean Sea instead, after the Permit Committee gave the factory permission to do so.

On 10.4.06, Zalul Association and the Acco Municipality pressed charged and requested to disqualify the permit awarded to Miluban by the Permit Committee.

On 14.6.06, the unprecedented verdict was in and the Honorable Judge Dar accepted Zalul's and Acco's plea and ordered the Permit Committee to convene again within a month to discuss Miluban's permit to flow its sewage into the Mediterranean Sea. The verdict also said that the Permit Committee was neglectful in awarding Miluban a permit and failed entirely in its role to supervise over Miluban's activities. The Judge further criticized the committee's actions and exclaimed that it did not stand guard to protect the sea.

Yariv Abramovich, director of Zalul, explains: "This verdict shows once again that Israel's legal system adopted suitable regulations for protecting the environment and the public's health. This verdict is an important milestone in setting environmental-legal policy in Israel. It seems that Israel's courts regard environmental values as important and worthy of protection, as opposed to the Permit Committee.

by xnet