La Rioja modifies the environmental authorization of the Los Palomos pig farm

The General Directorate of Environmental Quality, Climate Change and Water of the Government of La Rioja has approved the non-substantial modification of the integrated environmental authorization and the modification of the environmental impact statement for the pig fattening farm owned by Granja Los Palomos, S.L. in Cervera del Río Alhama, in the municipality of Valverde. The decision is formalized through Resolution 384/2026, dated October 28, published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja number 213, dated November 4, 2026, with reference BOR-A-20261104-III–4143 and file IPPC 95/AAI 10-2026.

The facility already held an integrated environmental authorization granted by Resolution 392/2024, dated October 3, which approved the expansion project and increased the capacity from 1,998 spaces to the current 5,940 fattening spaces, in addition to 154 quarantine spaces (file IPPC 95/AAI 34-2023, EIA 02/2024). The activity is classified under group 1, section a), of Annex I of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, and under category 9.3.b) of Annex I of Legislative Royal Decree 1/2016, of December 16.

Two requests processed jointly

The file was resolved as a non-substantial modification under Article 14 of Royal Decree 815/2013, of October 18, which develops the Law on integrated pollution prevention and control, and groups two requests from the promoter:

• On June 2, 2026, the modification of the best available technique number 24 (BAT 24), regarding the monitoring of excreted nitrogen and phosphorus.
• On June 26, 2026, the removal of the vegetative screen.

The environmental body requested reports from the affected public administrations and opened the hearing process on October 5, 2026. Once the deadline expired, no allegations were received from the promoter. The resolution approves the single text of the authorization and nullifies previous resolutions.

The farm, in figures

The facilities are located on plot 603 of polygon 51, with a total estimated occupancy of 8,041.13 square meters and three warehouses. Its main parameters are:

• Capacity: 5,940 fattening spaces and 154 quarantine spaces.
• Production: approximately 2.5 litters per year, equivalent to 14,553 fattened pigs.
• Water consumption: 17,107.2 cubic meters per year, pending express authorization from the Valverde Water Board.
• Feed consumption: 3,421.44 tons per year; electrical energy, 20,000 kWh per year with a 30 KVA generator.
• Slurry: 12,771 cubic meters per year, with 24 interior pits and a total storage capacity of 8,452.05 cubic meters, sufficient for four months.
• Distances: more than 1,150 meters to another pig farm, more than 800 to a sheep farm, and more than 1,300 to the urban center of Valverde; 1.22 kilometers to the Natura 2000 network site “Sierra de Alcarama y Valle del Alhama”.

The land is classified as Non-Urbanizable Land of Special Protection for Large Mediterranean Mountain Spaces, therefore the facility is authorizable and requires the approval of the Territorial Planning and Urbanism Commission of La Rioja.

Environmental and Landscape Conditions

The conditions of the environmental impact statement, detailed in Annex III, maintain the obligation to plant a line of trees on at least the north and west perimeter, adjacent to the “camino de La Careta”, using native species such as almond trees, olive trees, or coscoja. The maximum distance between plants shall be five meters, and the start of the planting must be communicated seven days in advance to the General Directorate of Natural Environment and Landscape.

The direct or indirect discharge of wastewater into any element of the public hydraulic domain is also expressly prohibited, and the maximum nitrogen dose is set at 250 kilos per hectare per year, which decreases to 170 in areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution. The owner must submit an annual monitoring report in the first quarter and a new Manure Production and Management Plan to the Livestock Service. The declaration will lose effectiveness if works do not begin within four years.

Notifications and Appeal

The resolution orders the transfer of the text to Granja Los Palomos, S.L., the City Council of Cervera del Río Alhama, the Nature Conservation and Planning Service, and the Environmental Integration Service. The document was signed in Logroño on October 28, 2026, by the general director, Isabel Vitoria Díez, and does not exhaust administrative remedies: an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the Counselor of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural World and Environment within one month from the day following its notification.

The publication affects the residents of Valverde and the Alhama valley, who see the environmental framework updated for one of the largest capacity pig farms in the region, with specific obligations regarding slurry, water, odors, and vegetative screening. It is also of interest to the livestock sector, as it establishes criteria on how the European conclusions on best available techniques are applied in La Rioja’s farms.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 213, of November 4, 2026, section III, page 18727 (official reference: BOR-A-20261104-III–4143).