An explosive file that is coming to an end. The prefecture of Haute-Garonne announces that the depollution of the former military ground of the Faugaa town of 2,000 souls located about forty kilometers south-west of Toulouse, is entering a new phase, more operational and spectacular.
This 50-hectare site was used during the Second World War as an explosives and ammunition storage area for the French and then German armies, before being sabotaged during the retreat of the occupying troops. It was sold by the army in 1993 to Eiffage for a real estate development project. But in 2005, before work started, it turned out to be so full of bombs and ammunition that the file collapsed. After 15 years of legal battle, the State was definitively ordered in July 2020 to clean up the former military land at its expense.
After the battle, a solar power station
If the clearing began in the summer of 2021, the time is now to search for explosives, on the surface and in depth. And, from mid-March, “Thursday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.”, the small caliber ammunition discovered will be destroyed on the site, in an area specially set up for this purpose. “No evacuation of population is required”, however reassures the prefecture.
On the other hand, if “larger capacity” munitions were found and their transfer was impossible, then “an evacuation of the population could be necessary”, with information to the inhabitants well in advance.
Demining operations should be completed in June 2024, to make way for a more peaceful photovoltaic power plant.