New hearing for the trial on the dumping of approximately 1,350 cubic meters of coal into the sea, which ended up on the seabed of the unloading dock of coal ships, at the Fiume Santo power plant. This morning, before the judge of the Sassari court, Monia Adami, Antonio Sanna appeared, one of the six defendants held responsible for the illegal dumping, which presumably occurred between 2003 and January 27, 2018.
"In this period, since the coal unloading activity began, we have never received any complaints from the Coast Guard or from Ispra or other authorities," Sanna said in response to questions from his lawyers, the civil party lawyer Stefano Bionda, representing the Municipality of Porto Torres, the prosecutor Antonio Piras and the judge. Sanna, who ended up on trial together with his colleagues Daniele Derosas, Salvatore Fois, Franco Angioni, Ruggero Lai, and Piero Gianfranco Soggia, all defended by lawyers Luigi Conti and Giuseppe Conti, described the various operations that took place for years in front of the dock of the breakwater of the industrial basin of Porto Torres, in the place where the coal ships that unload fuel for the power plant dock.
"I have never witnessed coal spills at sea. Ispra has carried out checks on the dockside systems and the environment on several occasions and has never detected irregularities or pollution situations," added the defendant, stating that all safety measures required by law and company protocols have always been strictly adopted in the unloading operations. The discovery of coal on the seabed dates back to 2017, when the same company employed divers for structural checks on the dockside. The discovery was immediately reported to the Port Authority which, thanks to Commander Emilio Del Santo, started all procedures, reporting the episode to the Sassari Prosecutor's Office, to verify possible pollution and to ascertain any responsibilities. The management of Ep Fiume Santo immediately informed the authorities and subsequently an order from the Port Authority arrived which imposed requirements, such as the obligation to use rafts to be positioned around coal ships. The coal on the seabed was later recovered from the seabed but was not reused because the Ministry of the Environment classified it as special waste. The trial will continue on February 18 with the depositions of some defense witnesses.
