Asturias declares the expansion of the Fuentes de Invierno station viable

The Regional Ministry of Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management of the Principality of Asturias has formulated the environmental impact statement (DIA) which determines the environmental viability of the project “Comprehensive and sustainable utilization of the skiable domain at the Fuentes de Invierno winter station (Aller)”. The resolution, signed on September 1, 2026, by the regional minister Alejandro Jesús Calvo Rodríguez, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) number 173 of September 7, 2026, with reference Code 2026-07336 and file IA-IA-0085/2026//AUTO/2026/60070.

The ruling enables the expansion of the ski resort in the municipality of Aller, a key project for mountain tourism in the region, which had remained pending completion since the initial construction of the facility between 2005 and 2007.

A file spanning more than two decades

The process began with the first DIA for the station project, formulated by resolution on May 14, 2004, and published in the BOPA on June 23, 2004, which classified the impact as generally moderate and severe regarding the landscape. Following the construction of the station between 2005 and 2007, the intermediate base, the artificial snow system, and the water storage pond remained undeveloped.

In 2014, the General Directorate of Sport consulted the environmental body regarding the applicable procedure, and after a simplified evaluation, the resolution of June 30, 2015, determined that the project could generate significant effects on the landscape, certain taxa, and habitats; therefore, it was submitted to an ordinary environmental impact assessment. The public information process was announced in BOPA number 19 on January 29, 2026, and the Environmental Affairs Commission of Asturias unanimously agreed, in a session on August 28, 2026, to the favorable report for the DIA proposal.

Alternatives and environmental measures

The DIA establishes the alternatives selected in the Environmental Impact Study, which condition the development of the project:

• New slopes: alternative A2, with marking and earthworks limited to essential points.
• Base buildings: B1, disaggregated construction that separates the service building and the hangars.
• Intermediate base sanitation: C1, with connection to the existing WWTP.
• Collector layout: D1, piping through the Abedules slope, with a length of approximately 1,234 meters.
• Sanitation operation: E1, gravity drainage, without pumping.

The resolution also imposes extensive conditions to protect habitats of community interest, most notably the scrublands of habitat 4060, the Nardus stricta formations (priority habitat 6230*), and the species Empetrum nigrum. Among the measures are the prior surveying of these species, the protection of peatlands and temporary ponds, and the construction of a snowmaking reservoir of approximately 10,000 m² with escape systems for amphibians and a naturalized compensatory pond.

Validity and monitoring

Pursuant to article 41.4 of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, no appeal may be filed against this declaration, without prejudice to those that may proceed against the act of project authorization. The EIS will lose its validity under the terms of article 43 of the same law, and the promoter must notify the environmental body of the start date of execution.

Monitoring is the responsibility of the substantive body, the General Directorate of Physical Activity and Sport, which must submit periodic reports on compliance with preventive, corrective, and compensatory measures, with an environmental surveillance program that will be made public on the electronic headquarters.

The publication of this EIS clears the main administrative hurdle to completing a station that, two decades after its first authorization, will be able to complete its slopes, its intermediate base, and its artificial snow system, a decisive boost for winter tourism and the economy of the council of Aller.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 173 of September 7, 2026, I. Principality of Asturias, page 1/6 (official reference: Code 2026-07336).