Do Nothing Sign

Ministry of the Environment
Order by the Prefet for Habitat Protection
No. 774 - 21/05/1991
Tautavel/Vingrau
Place of life for protected plant and animal species
Respect the rules
No hunting No camping No fires No rock climbing No collecting mineral samples"

This order protects precisely the area where the same prefets have granted OMYA permission to quarry millions of cubic feet for a period of 30 years. This makes especially the last prohibition seem a bit strange.
Plant: The processing plant is seen at the left: the opponents succeeded in getting conditions imposed such that the buildings had to be painted green, set back somewhat from the brow of the cirque, and located in a pit dug to offer further concealment.

Berm: The berm was a suggestion by OMYA. They said it would further conceal the plant but opponents claimed it just made it cheaper for OMYA to get rid of excavation materials created when the pit for the buildings was dug.



January 2002