Environmental green light for the Camargo construction waste plant

The General Directorate of Environment and Climate Change of the Government of Cantabria has formulated the Environmental Impact Report for file EIA-SIMP.030.2025, which concludes that the “Herrera” construction and demolition waste (CDW) recovery and treatment plant project, in the municipality of Camargo, is unlikely to produce significant adverse effects on the environment. The resolution is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) no. 207, dated October 28, 2026, with official reference CVE-2026-8327, and was signed in Santander on October 20, 2026, by the director general Alberto Quijano Alonso. The ruling clears the way for the processing of the project, promoted by Canteras de Santander, S. A., by ruling out the need to subject it to an ordinary environmental impact assessment.

The framework for the decision is Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment. The project falls under group 9, heading b), of Annex II of said regulation, and therefore followed the simplified environmental assessment procedure provided for in Article 7.2. The Pollution Prevention and Control Service, of the same general directorate, acts as the substantive body.

The process began on November 6, 2025, with the submission of the promoter’s documentation, and the consultation phase for administrations and interested parties opened on December 2, 2025. Throughout the file, there were requests for correction (May 21 and August 19, 2026) and responses from the promoter with addenda to the project and the Environmental Document, the last of which was registered on October 9, 2026.

A favorable report with conditions

The report concludes that the project “is unlikely to produce significant adverse effects” provided that the actions comply with the submitted project and Environmental Document, the environmental measures and monitoring program proposed by the promoter are met, and the additional conditions set by the environmental body and other competent administrations are addressed.

Among the consulted administrations that issued a report are:

• Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation, which rules out effects on riverbeds and places the plot outside of flood risk zones.
• State Roads Demarcation in Cantabria, which, after the new documentation, considers the works authorizable with respect to the S-30 Highway.
• General Directorate of Security and Citizen Protection, which reports favorably on the file after the addendum on risks.
• General Directorate of Culture and Historical Heritage, General Directorate of Public Works, Urban Planning and File Processing Service of the CROTU, and the Camargo City Council.

No response was recorded from the General Directorate of Forests and Biodiversity, ARCA, or Ecologistas en Acción.

75 by 35 Meter Warehouse and 946 Daily Tons

The main facility will occupy a plot of 13,186 m² adjacent to the Herrera Quarry, owned by the same company, while the complementary stockpiling area, already paved, adds 8,203 m² with an option to expand up to 2 hectares. The total occupied area amounts to 21,389 m². A closed metal warehouse measuring 75 x 35 meters with a maximum ridge height of 12.10 meters will be erected on the platform.

The technical data declared by the promoter are:

• Maximum requested capacity for the recovery of non-hazardous waste: 946 tons/day.
• Annual capacities: 95,751 t/year in mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles, and ceramics; 54,500 t/year in bituminous mixtures; 48,875 t/year in concrete and 25,437 t/year in bricks, tiles, and ceramic materials.
• Products: recycled aggregates in fractions of 0-20, 20-50, and 50-80 mm, which must obtain end-of-waste status.
• Decantation pond of 225 m³ on the main plot and 144 m³ on the stockpiling plot, with a hydrocarbon separator and a water reuse system based on the zero-discharge principle.

Remaining Procedures

The report imposes conditions such as the installation of a vegetative screen with native species, the limitation of work to business days during daytime hours from 7:00 to 19:00, archaeological control of all earthworks, and the obtaining of atmospheric emission authorizations.

It also requires authorization for rural land, as it involves rural land of ordinary protection and special protection, and express authorizations from the Regional Ministry of Development, Housing, Territorial Planning, and Environment due to the impact on the CA-307 road, and from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility regarding the protection zones of the S-30 Highway. Furthermore, the promoter discarded the R0508 landfill operation in its modified application.

The Environmental Impact Report will expire if the project is not authorized within a maximum period of four years from its publication, and failure to comply with the conditions is classified as a serious infringement, with fines ranging from 24,001 to 240,000 euros. The report is not subject to any appeal, without prejudice to the appeals that may proceed against the project’s authorization act.

The decision directly affects the residents of Herrera and the industrial environment of Camargo, the Cantabrian construction sector, and waste management, as it enables a facility intended to produce recycled aggregates as secondary raw materials and to reduce pressure on virgin resources. The resolution arrives, however, without final authorization: the plant must still pass urban, road, atmospheric, and discharge procedures in order to operate.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 207, October 28, 2026, section 7.2 Environment and Energy, page 55263 (official reference: CVE-2026-8327).