Junta de Castilla y León archives the environmental authorization of a biogas plant in Coreses

The company requested authorization in October 2024

On October 11, 2024, Norbiogas Biometano III, S.L. submitted to the then competent Department of the Junta de Castilla y León the application for environmental authorization for a biogas and biomethane production plant in the Zamora municipality of Coreses. The application was accompanied by the basic project, the non-technical summary, the environmental impact study, and an urban compatibility report issued by the Provincial Council of Zamora at the request of the Coreses City Council.

The facility is conceived as a non-hazardous organic waste recovery plant intended for the production of biogas and biomethane. The file was registered under number 158-24-AAZA and was processed in accordance with the consolidated text of the Law on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (Royal Legislative Decree 1/2016, of December 16), the Industrial Emissions Regulation (Royal Decree 815/2013, of October 18), and the consolidated text of the Environmental Prevention Law of Castilla y León (Legislative Decree 1/2015, of November 12).

Public information and contradictory municipal reports

Once the application was admitted for processing, the Directorate General for Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability submitted the environmental authorization project to the public information procedure, the notice of which was published in BOCYL No. 56, of March 23, 2026. In parallel, the Coreses City Council sent up to four urban compatibility reports to the Department:

• Report from the municipal architect, signed on November 25, 2022, with an unfavorable outcome.
• Report from the Provincial Council of Zamora, signed on May 15, 2023, favorable subject to compliance with its conditions.
• First municipal report, signed on May 5, 2026, unfavorable.
• Second municipal report, signed on the same day, May 5, 2026, favorable.

Given the disparity of criteria, the Directorate General for Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability requested, by official communication of May 7, 2026, a unified and definitive report from the City Council to clarify whether the activity was compatible with urban planning. On May 27, 2026, the definitive report was received, signed by the mayor-president of the Coreses City Council, with an unfavorable outcome.

Legal basis: a negative municipal report closes the procedure

The resolution is based on Article 12.2 of Legislative Decree 1/2015, which establishes that, when the municipal urban planning report is negative, the competent body for granting the environmental authorization must issue a reasoned resolution terminating the procedure and ordering the filing of the proceedings. The negative report from the mayor of Coreses, entered into the register of the regional administration before the resolution, triggers this mandatory closure ground.

The competence to issue the order lies with the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development and Environmental Policy, by virtue of Decree 2/2026, of 13 June, of the President of the Junta of Castilla y León, on the restructuring of ministries, which assigns environmental prevention powers to that department. The order was signed in Valladolid on 11 August 2026 by Joaquín Antonio Pino, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development and Environmental Policy.

Available appeals against the resolution

The resolution ends the administrative route. Against it, the following may be filed:

• Optional appeal for reconsideration, within one month from notification, in accordance with Article 123 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
• Administrative contentious appeal before the Administrative Contentious Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León, within two months from notification, pursuant to Law 29/1998, of 13 July.

The filing of the file represents a setback for the Norbiogas Biometano III, S.L. project in the province of Zamora and demonstrates the municipality’s capacity to block energy facilities that do not conform to its urban planning, despite having favorable reports from the Provincial Council. The decision may set a precedent for future biogas plant applications in the autonomous community, where coherence between municipal reports and energy needs becomes a decisive factor.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL), No. 159, Tuesday, 18 August 2026, section I.D – Other Provisions, pp. 104-106 (official reference: BOCYL-D-18082026-159-6).