The Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, through its Environment and Urban Planning Section, has closed an investigation into the Santa Susanna underpass project, concluding it caused no environmental damage. This decision, issued on 8 March, dismisses allegations that the works harmed the agricultural aquifer in the Pla de Balasc area.

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The investigation began in August 2025 following a complaint from the Salvem el Pla de Balasc platform. This group, supported by the Unió de Pagesos farmers’ union and the CUP political party, alleged unauthorised discharges into the sea. They also claimed the project risked depleting and salinising the aquifer that supplies irrigation wells.

Exhaustive Investigation Launched

These accusations generated considerable social alarm among local farmers and residents. However, an exhaustive technical and police investigation has now disproved them. The Prosecutor’s Office initiated several actions from the outset of the proceedings.

In September 2025, the decree of incoation instructed the Environment Division of the Mossos d’Esquadra to expand the complaint. Police conducted on-site inspections to verify if water discharges into the sea continued. They also requested the full works file from Santa Susanna Council for the project at kilometre point 52.096 on the N-II road.

Additionally, the Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA) provided detailed information on its actions. Investigators identified individuals responsible for the works. Judicial sources stated the investigation was thorough, leaving no aspect unexamined.

Water Quality Unaffected

Between 13 August and 16 September 2025, the Mossos d’Esquadra carried out seven on-site inspections. On 26 August, officers collected water conductivity samples from eight irrigation wells in the Pla de Balasc area. The National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences analysed these samples.

Police reports meticulously documented the results of these actions. The analyses confirmed that water quality in all eight agricultural wells remained absolutely normal throughout the investigation period. The study specifically assessed potential marine intrusion into the aquifer due to water extractions during construction.

It analysed salinity indicators such as electrical conductivity and concentrations of sodium and chloride ions. The findings concluded that the road works did not affect the quality of nearby irrigation well water. Groundwater conductivity and salinity levels stayed within the normal range for a freshwater coastal aquifer.

Aquifer Levels Remain Stable

Monitoring of groundwater levels further confirmed stability in agricultural wells throughout the process. Massive pumping during construction never depleted or dried out the aquifer designated for agriculture. This finding directly refutes a primary accusation from the Unió de Pagesos and the complainant platform, which had warned of water scarcity risks for local crops.

The prosecutor’s decree acknowledges severe marine intrusion occurred within the construction site itself. This was due to excavation depth and proximity to the coast, showing conductivity values typical of direct seawater. However, this extreme salinity remained entirely confined to the excavation zone.

It never transferred to the agricultural extraction points in Pla de Balasc. Therefore, conditions within the construction trench were typical for deep coastal excavations, not a real threat to the agricultural aquifer or local farmers.

Administrative Irregularities Noted

The Prosecutor’s Office also recognised administrative shortcomings in the project’s management. Santa Susanna Council and the construction company, Rogasa, began dewatering the water table without all necessary authorisations from the outset. These permits were only legally formalised months after work commenced.

Municipal sources explained that the containment basin could have burst without urgent drainage. They stated the decision was made with the ACA’s knowledge to prevent a dangerous situation. The delay in obtaining permits was particularly evident for occupying the maritime-terrestrial public domain.

The permit application occurred in February 2025, but the retroactive legalisation resolution was not signed until November of the same year, after the activity had already finished. The council asserts that the ACA and State Coasts were informed of all steps at all times. Additionally, the Catalan agency’s immediate stop order, issued on 1 August 2025, was not followed.

Required flow meters were also never installed, leading to constant leaks onto the beach. Municipal sources assured that containing the flow was impossible, as the damage would have had severe consequences. Despite these formal and administrative irregularities, the Prosecutor’s Office is categorical: the investigated facts do not constitute a crime.

No Criminal Offence Found

The investigation dismissed the ecological crime, defined in Article 325 of the Penal Code. This crime requires emissions, discharges, or extractions to cause, or potentially cause, substantial damage to air, soil, or water quality. Since technical reports certified no impact on the quality or level of irrigation well water, no criminal offence occurred.

Objective data from the Mossos d’Esquadra’s Environment Investigation Area, the Catalan Water Agency, and the National Institute of Forensic Sciences all pointed to the same conclusion: no effective environmental damage. Furthermore, the investigation found no crime of disobedience under Article 556 of the Penal Code.

This had been suggested as a possible consequence of the council and constructor’s failure to comply with ACA requirements. The prosecutor concluded that while minor administrative irregularities existed, they did not meet the jurisprudential requirements for criminal disobedience.

Council’s Position Supported

The Prosecutor’s decree, signed on 8 March, effectively supports the council’s position. The Santa Susanna council consistently maintained the works were necessary and had no impact on the agricultural aquifer. The resolution will be notified to the Salvem el Pla de Balasc platform, as the complainant, and to Santa Susanna Council.

The council will receive the file to apply any administrative sanctions deemed appropriate for the procedural irregularities identified during the works’ execution. Santa Susanna’s municipal government declined to comment on the ruling. However, it expressed regret over what it called unfounded accusations from Unió de Pagesos and some political parties, which it claimed used the public works to undermine the local executive led by Joan Campolier.

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Originally published by La Vanguardia Catalonia. Read original article.