The hot area of the former Ilva plant in Taranto, Italy, now Acciaierie d'Italia, will not shut down and production activities will continue regularly. The decision of the State Council cancels the sentence of the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) of Lecce, which ordered the halting of activities in the hot area within 60 days, i.e., by April 14, in order to prevent emissions from the plant.
The hot area includes the plant's blast furnaces, mineral storage areas, the coke plant, the steel mill, the area for managing steel materials, and the agglomeration area.
According to the judges, "the illegality of the contested order must be declared and consequently its annulment must be pronounced" because "the power of the order is not supported by an adequate investigation and is, at the same time, vitiated by intrinsic contradiction and lack of motivation." In the 60 pages of motivation of the sentence, it is said that the "power of ordinance" of Taranto's mayor has "ended up overlapping the ways in which, ordinarily, situations of environmental pollution and health risk are managed and faced, for the production plants authorized by AIA [Integrated Environmental Authorization]." According to the judges of the Council of State, moreover, there was no evidence of a further danger compared to the danger "ordinarily connected to the performance of industrial activity."
With the decision of the Council of State, not only do the hypotheses of shutting down the hot area of the former Ilva plant become void, but the Italian State's entry into the steel group and the industrial plan signed in December 2020 can continue. "In the light of the ruling of the Council of State which clarifies the operational and legal framework, the government will proceed swiftly on an industrial plan which is environmentally compatible and that respects people's health," said the Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, immediately after the sentence.