News
June 30th, 2022
Supreme Court rules out the existence of the Sargento Silva wetland in Puerto Montt and that the real estate projects reported should have been assessed through the SEIA for affecting it
.SHAREOn June 28, the Supreme Court (Docket No. 95.910-2021) upheld the first instance ruling issued by the Puerto Montt Court of Appeals, which rejected the protection appeal filed against 3 real estate developers and the Municipality of Puerto Montt for having granted building permits to projects that would have required prior environmental assessment. According to the appellants, these projects would be located in the vicinity of the “Sergeant Silva Urban Wetland” and would affect it.
Although in the judgment the Court reiterates its previous jurisprudence, stating that urban wetlands are protected even if they have not been recognized by an act of authority, it points out that it is not possible to prove the existence of such wetland since there are no records of any natural watercourse or ecosystem that would make it recognizable in all the background information provided.
Finally, given that the appellants claimed that the projects had to be environmentally assessed because they affected an urban wetland, the Court reasons that in the absence of any precedent that would allow the existence of said wetland to be sustained, the protection action cannot prosper.
Review the full judgment here.
