First stage of the mission in Campania, in the territory of Caserta, of a delegation of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into illegal activities connected to the waste cycle and other environmental and agri-food crimes, chaired by MP Jacopo Morrone, was the former industrial site in the Calabricito area, historically used for the maceration of hemp which was then transformed into an illegal landfill for waste, including hazardous waste.
The delegation, composed of President Morrone and Commissioners Carmela Auriemma (M5s), Francesco Emilio Borrelli (Avs) and Gerolamo Cangiano (Fdi), then reached the Real Sito di Carditello, in the San Tammaro area, welcomed by Maurizio Maddaloni, President of the Real Sito di Carditello Foundation which is taking exemplary care of the restitution to the public of this splendid Bourbon palace, by representatives of the institutions and the Police Forces.
In this context, an informal round table discussion was held, in which, in addition to the delegation, Lucia Volpe, Prefect of Caserta, President Maddaloni, Don Maurizio Patriciello, parish priest in Caivano, and Antonio Marfella, Isde, as well as Giuseppe Vadala', newly appointed Sole Commissioner for the Land of Fires, participated.
“After taking office in September 2023, the Commission opened a specific 'line of inquiry' into the area known as 'Land of Fires' – President Morrone underlined – to provide an updated picture of the critical elements that still exist.
This is the third mission that we carry out in the territory with the aim of dedicating an investigation focus also on the pollution of the aquifers". Morrone then recalled that "the various Commissions since the XII legislature have paid attention to the phenomena and the situation of the so-called 'Land of fires' by drawing up detailed reports that were also used by the ECHR in drafting the ruling of 30 January 2025. We intend to continue this work of analysis and investigation, remembering that the massive amount of material collected is available to everyone.
One of the problems encountered, despite the high level of commitment and interest shown by the various institutions in different ways and forms, - he added - is the lack of coordination, which should be put to an end by the appointment of a single Commissioner, called for in recent weeks by the Commission, immediately accepted by the Government, which on 19 February announced the appointment of General Giuseppe Vadala'”.
"It seems that we are starting from year zero but we are not in year zero - reiterated Carmela Auriemma (M5s) - initiatives have been undertaken and the healthy area of the territory must be protected. This is the objective to be pursued without opposition, networking and coordinating all actions for a correct management of the waste cycle which is an obligation for the institutions and for politics that goes beyond any ideology".
It is Francesco Emilio Borrelli (Avs) who has broken a lance towards those who have fought in recent years against the environmental devastation suffered by this land having to endure "insinuations and derision, while their actions were born from love for their land and its inhabitants". Borrelli, after having welcomed the appointment of Commissioner Vadala' hoping that he will be able to systematize all the actions of reclamation and protection of the territory, has lamented "the small number of convictions for environmental disaster".
Gerolamo Cangiano also reiterated that he welcomed “with satisfaction” the establishment of a single Commissioner for the reclamation of the Terra dei Fuochi, a proposal, he recalled, put forward by the Commission itself during the recent hearing of the Minister of the Environment at Palazzo San Macuto. “The hope is that this figure will be able to overcome the fragmentation of interventions and make the action of the actors involved more effective.
Now we are here to listen and to have a complete picture of the situation". It should be remembered that Commissioners Cangiano and Auriemma are respectively majority and minority rapporteurs of the report on the 'strand' that concerns the waste disposal system in Campania with particular regard to the so-called Land of fires.
The Real Sito di Carditello Foundation is also committed to enhancing the environmental heritage and promoting the territory. With the Campania Region, it has created the Environmental Intelligence Unit (Uia) in the Bourbon palace, which deals, as the vice president of the Campania Region and environmental councilor Fulvio Bonavitacola explained to the commissioners, with the collection and management of environmental data, strategic planning and monitoring of the effects of ongoing and concluded actions.
In the afternoon, at the Prefecture in Caserta, the delegation heard Lucia Volpe, prefect of Caserta, Pierpaolo Bruni, public prosecutor of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Ciro Silvestro, in charge of combating the phenomenon of waste fires in Campania, Ciro Verdoliva, director of the ASL Napoli 1 Center, and Amedeo Blasotti, general director of Asl Caserta.
Article published on 20 February 2025 - 20:20
