Overview

• The TSXG ruled that decades of unchecked nitrate and organic waste from pig and poultry megafarms breached residents’ rights to life, health, property and a healthy environment.
• The verdict orders immediate measures to halt odors and contamination in the As Conchas reservoir and ensure access to clean, safe drinking water.
• Xunta de Galicia and the Confederación Hidrográfica Miño-Sil y Limia must pay €1,000 per month to each affected resident, capped at €30,000 apiece.
• The ruling sets a European precedent by applying Spain’s constitutional environmental and human-rights protections to livestock-farming pollution.
• The sentence awaits potential appeal to the TSXG or Spain’s Supreme Court and is not yet final.