The reform of the Mar Menor Law, proposed by the Popular Parliamentary Group of the Region of Murcia and which reduces sanctions, could violate the principle of non-regression, fundamental in environmental law: “The right to the lagoon is directly violated,” warned Eduardo Salazar, environmental lawyer and promoter of the law on the legal personality of the Mar Menor. If the proposal is approved, Salazar warned that the Tutoría del Mar Menor would request an appeal for the modification, and did not exclude that the Spanish government would end up presenting it.
The reform of the Mar Menor law was the last of the demands that Vox imposed on the popular parties for the signing of the 2025 regional budgets, signed in June this year. This point is addressed late, since the budget agreement provided that “the procedure for review and reform” of the Mar Menor law be initiated “before October 2025”.
According to the draft law to which this newspaper had access, the sanctions regime will be extracted from the regulations relating to nitrate pollution so that it appears in the future action program for the vulnerable area of Campo de Cartagena. Furthermore, farmers and breeders will be subject to a state-based sanctions regime, provided for in Article 27 of Law 30/2022, of December 23, which regulates the management system of the Common Agricultural Policy and other related matters, in matters of sustainable nutrition of agricultural soils.
With the change of framework, we see a considerable reduction in the economic amount of sanctions: the light sanctions of the current legislation provided for fines of up to ten thousand euros, and with the modification they would go into a range between 600 and 1,000 euros. “The Mar Menor is very sick, in the UVI it is completely justified to further sanction behaviors that harm it, such as agriculture,” argued Salazar, also a member of the Tutoría del Mar Menor, an organization designated to represent the salt lagoon after the approval of the legal personality of this environment.
The proposal also amends Article 83.4 regarding the possibility of sanctioned companies receiving public subsidies. In its original version, the regulation states that the commission of serious or very serious offenses will “result” in the loss of the right to obtain any type of aid or subsidy from the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia for a period of two years. It is now proposed to qualify this article, so that the commission of serious offenses “may lead” to the loss of aid.
The Popular Parliamentary Group considers that the current Law of the Mar Menor “limits the power of the instructor over the sanctioning procedures” when deciding on the imposition of accessory sanctions: “The instructor must follow the sanctioning procedure, it is not limited in any aspect. What they say is downright incorrect,” Salazar emphasized.
Environmentalists could take legal action
In a document presented by Ecologistas en Acción, the majority of associations defending the salt lagoon expressed their “indignation” at the popular bill. “It is significant that it is precisely about removing the sanction regime from the law, and precisely in an issue as fundamental as the control of the use of nitrates, about eliminating a well-deserved punishment for violators: that those who do not comply with the law are not entitled to public subsidies for several years,” they denounced.
Regarding the changes proposed in Law 3/2020, of July 27, on the recovery and protection of the Mar Menor, the organizations have been very critical: “It is clear that it is about favoring and protecting the interests of companies, and precisely of the sector most responsible for the eutrophication of the Mar Menor. It’s pure cynicism,” said Ecologistas en Acción spokesperson Pedro Luengo. On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Pact for the Mar Menor, Ramón Pagán, warned that the association is analyzing the text presented by the Popular Party, with its practical consequences: “We do not exclude taking legal and administrative actions, which we will announce soon.”
Finally, they distorted the date on which this proposal was announced, “December 23, just before Christmas”: “It is a ‘classic’ thing that controversial projects or regulations are dealt with on Christmas dates or in August, taking advantage of the fact that people are on vacation, to reduce social opposition and protests. This is the true spirit of the People’s Party in terms of participation and transparency.” The organizations wanted to recall that on December 28 they had called a demonstration at the Murcia Palace of Justice, and that this attack against Law 3/2020, of July 27, on the recovery and protection of the Mar Menor will be one of the main themes.
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