The Flemish government, environmental organisations such as Natuurpunt and Bond Beter Leefmilieu, and the Zwijndrecht municipality have reached an agreement on how to tackle pollution by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) around the Oosterweel site.
This was confirmed by one of the organisations involved.
The agreement was included on the agenda of the Zwijndrecht municipal council on Thursday and that of the council of ministers on Friday.
The Flemish government has been sitting around the table with the municipality and the organisations for several months in an attempt to resolve legal proceedings over the site and the pollution caused there by the 3M chemicals company.
However, two of the three members of the so-called PFAS Coalition, which was behind the lawsuit, left the talks. Grondrecht and Greenpeace withdrew over a confidentiality clause, among other things, while activist Thomas Goorden dropped out of the negotiations because, like Grondrecht, he was denied financial support.
Talks then continued with a so-called 'coalition of the willing,' including Zwijndrecht municipality, citizens’ movement Zwijndrecht Gezond, Natuurpunt, Lantis and Bond Beter Leefmilieu, culminating in this week's agreement.
