The Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has denied wanting to bill the Generalitat Valenciana for the scientific support it provides after DANA. The center is developing measures to study the composition of the sludge that DANA has left in many Valencian municipalities and which is eliminated by thousands of professionals and volunteers. The cost of the project amounts to 900,000 euros, according to the CSIC itself, which assures that it will cover it in full.
“The CSIC does not charge the Generalitat Valenciana or any other administration for the consultancy work it provides to the managers of the emergency derived from DANA, for which it assumes the entire cost,” the agency said in a statement . The agency’s denial comes after the publication of information in various media, in which they claim that the government intended to bill the Generalitat Valenciana for the research and assistance of the scientific agency.
“The CSIC covered the cost of moving the oceanographic vessel Ramón Margalef to the coast of Valencia – worth more than 300,000 euros – as well as the work to overhaul infrastructure in the municipalities affected by the flood, among other actions carried out in relation to DANA”, they specify “The CSIC is currently designing measures for the study and management of sludge generated by DANA with a budget estimated at 900,000. euros, a cost that he will once again assume entirely,” they add.
To offer scientific support, the CSIC sent a letter to the Department of Environment, Infrastructure and Territory of the Generalitat, as reported by the newspaper The provinces. In this document, which details the procedure of the investigation – which aims to guarantee that the environmental impact of the sludge is not negative – the CSIC figures the estimated budget necessary for carrying out the operation, which amounts to at 320,000 euros, according to information published by the media this Monday. This budget would include the costs of materials, technical labor and analysis of the study, and the media assure that the intention is to invoice the Generalitat.
“However, the CSIC denies this and assures that it has not obliged any administration to pay for support work in humanitarian causes or disasters, but that it always assumes the full cost of the support provided: “It is what he did in the scientific field. technical support that it offered in the case of the eruption of the Tajogaite volcano on the island of La Palma in 2021, in the case of DANA, and in any other action.”
