The illegal dump near Río de la Miel in Nerja, which was in use between 1998 and 2016, continues in the law courts to determine those responsible.

The law courts in Torrox have announced the conclusion of the investigative phase and is going ahead to bring 13 people before the judge. The Junta and the Nerja Town Hall are also being held to account for subsidiary civil liability.

Amongst the 13 are the ex-Mayor of Nerja, Rosa Arrabal (PSOE) and the mayor in office before her between 1995 and 2015, José Alberto Armijo (PP). They are accompanied by the three Councillors for the Environment; Nieves Atencia and José Miguel Jimena (for the PP administrations) and Councillor Jorge Bravo (IU) as well as the Secretary for the Environmental Department, Carmen Molero.

Those above are the politicians, but there are also seven businessmen from the construction sector.

The judge, however, has dropped the case against the ex-councillors from the PP, Jonathan Méndez, José Alberto Tomé and Antonio García; the ex Councillor for Infrastructure, José María Rivas (PSOE), The Territorial Delegate for the Environment (Junta), as well as twenty business persons, as too much time has elapsed so the crimes that they stood accused of are no longer prosecutable.

The 13 are facing charges of environment damage to natural resources and administrative misfeasance (misconduct).

The illegal dump was brought into being by a mayoralty decree in 1998, by the then Mayor, Sr. Armijo who justified his decision for “reasons of urgent necessity.” During the next 16 years 800,000 cu/m of all kinds of rubbish were dumped without any kind of control, or any attempt at recycling, on the part of the Town Hall. All this despite the dump being located in an area officially categorised as “of special protection as a bird sanctuary” within the Natural Park of Sierras Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama.

(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)