Bertolino sentenced to compensate Partinico for Nocella River pollution

Last Updated: March 17, 2024

Inquinamento del fiume Nocella, la Bertolino condannata a risarcire il Comune di Partinico

The Bertolino distillery will have to pay the sum of the compensation for the damage in favor of the Municipality of Partinico, amounting to one million and 115 thousand euros, in addition to the already liquidated 131 thousand euros for the “image damage”. This was established by a specific ordinance of the third civil section of the Cassation Court which rejected in full the detailed appeal filed by the owner of the first class unhealthy industry, Antonina Bertolino, against the appellate court ruling.

Six reasons for opposition to the civil conviction for the payment of environmental damages for polluting discharges were presented, in the period between September 1991 and September 1992. This situation resulted in the degradation of the Maltempo canal, the Puddastri stream, and the Nocella river: conduct for which, at the time, the criminal responsibility of Antonina Bertolino was also recognized. The supreme court has established that the damage quantified in the appellate court is appropriate and has been determined on the basis of precise and ascertained responsibilities. The damage, as per the now final judgment, has been quantified at 70 percent compared to the documented environmental degradation caused in the rivers where the industry discharged. The remaining 30 percent is attributed to other polluting discharges that would have been discharged by unidentified companies in the area.

A comprehensive report by Michele Giuliano in today’s edition of the Palermo newspaper Giornale di Sicilia.