Documents and publications
Newsletter Nº 14
November 10, 2003

CONTENT:

1. JUDGEMENT ON NOISE POLLUTION IN 25 DE MAYO
   FREEWAY CONFIRMED

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JUDGEMENT ON NOISE POLLUTION
IN 25 DE MAYO FREEWAY CONFIRMED
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Court I from the Administrative Litigation Contentious Jurisdiction of Buenos Aires, in an unanimous judgement, confirmed the sentence issued by the Judge Fabio Treacy (in charge of the Administrative Litigation Contentious Jurisdiction Nº 3), in March, 2003. Through this judgment it emerged an injunctive relief, which was promoted by a neighbour next to the 25 de Mayo Freeway, and he was supported by FARN's Citizen Control Program on Environment, sentencing "Autopistas Urbanas S.A." (AUSA) and the Government of Buenos Aires to adopt the necessary measures to achieve an important reduction of the noise pollution produced by the 25 de Mayo Freeway. In this occasion, the Jurisdiction forced the company to present -in 35 days- to the Government of the City, a Technical Study on Environmental Impact and an Environmental Adaptation Plan, where there it must be specified: a) Levels of noise in public spaces, b) Levels of noise inside the houses and buildings in general -including schools situated in boundary areas- and c) Technical solutions to reduce the level of noises in both spaces.

During the 35 days after the presentation of the Technical Study and the Company's Adaptation Plan, the GCBA must issue a decree in order to create a plan to reduce the level of noises in the freeway. Such a plan must be presented by the Government, who after the plan is approved by the Judge (Dr Fabio Treacy) will have control over its execution.

Among the main essential points of the judgement, it is outlined that it can not be accepted -as said the company-, that the Constitution of the City of Buenos Aires (art 27), -when establishing that the City develops "in a way unable to be delegated" a Urban Environmental Planning and Management Policy-, exempts the rest of the people to respect the environment. What it is unable to be delegated, according to the Jurisdiction, is the duty to create a policy, and "not the duty to respect the environment, and in any case, repair the problem".

Likewise, the judgement also outlines that "… all the inhabitants of the City, as established by the Constitution (federal and local), have the fundamental right to a healthy environment, and this aspect includes the lack of noise pollution; one of the cases is the excessive noise". It is important to outline that the measuring of noises carried out by the Environmental Quality Control's Direction of the Government of the City in the house of Mr. Pedro Barragán, and that were incorporated as proofs in the case, showed levels of noise of 72 dB (A) and 86 dB (A), exceeding the maximum levels according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Finally, when analyzing the levels of noises, the Jurisdiction considers that the collected proofs (from GCBA and UBA and the consultancy hired by AUSA), show that such levels that get into the insides are substantial and affect the normal development of daily life, and the noise is so high that, "there are schools that the noises do not allow the teachers and pupils to speak inside the schools, and the dialogue is the main activity in the educational task".

The doubts that have arisen in the decision adopted by the Jurisdiction are about the efficiency of the said one as a form to mitigate the noise in the freeway. This is because the mitigation's measures must come from studies and reports prepared by those who have denied the existence of the problem during the process, and they must resolve the costs of the measure. That is why it will be necessary the control and evaluation of the studies proposed by the company not to become the sentence a frustration for the affected ones.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

   Judgement Full Text:
   http://www.farn.org.ar/arch/fallo_autopista2.pdf

   News:
   Clarín Newspaper:
   http://old.clarin.com/diario/2003/10/25/h-04601.htm

   La Nación Newspaper:
   http://www.lanacion.com.ar/03/10/29/dg_540158.asp