Schivenoglia piggery: exclusion from the EIA procedure

Question for written answer  E-002078/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Eleonora Evi (Verts/ALE)

The agricultural company Biopig Italia has submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) pre-screening application for a plan to restructure a pig farm in the municipality of Schivenoglia (currently home to 900 animals), with a view to increasing its capacity to 4 158 units. The Province of Mantua has decided to accept this application and to exclude the project from both the EIA procedure and the environmental impact assessment screening procedure, despite the fact that the work will be above the threshold laid down for EIA procedures, since it will be an intensive pig farm with more than 3 000 places for production pigs weighing more than 30 kg[1]. The site is also located in an area where high stocking density contributes significantly to systematic breaches of the Nitrates Directive and of the PM10 and PM2.5 limits laid down in Directive 2008/50/EC.

In view of this:

In the Commission’s opinion, did the consent issued by the Province of Mantua, in the absence of any environmental impact assessment or prior EIA screening, comply with Articles 2 and 4 of Directive 2011/92/EU?

Does it consider the above consent to be consistent and compatible with the measures that Italy is supposed to be taking in order to comply with Directive 91/676/EEC and the judgment of the CJEU of 10/11/2020 in Case C-644/18, ensuring the proper implementation of Directive 2008/50/EC?

• [1] https://www.greenpeace.org/italy/storia/12810/schivenoglia-la-maxi-porcilaia-cresce-senza-un-v-i-a/