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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Waste management · Turkey · 2011

Ergene pollution case dropped on time limit as wastewater goes to Marmara

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

A criminal case over pollution in Turkey's Ergene basin was dismissed for statute of limitations in 2024. Since 2020 about 300,000 cubic metres of wastewater a day has been sent to the Sea of Marmara by deep discharge, instead of the river.

What?
Expert reports linked pollution in the Ergene basin to industry, and a criminal case over it was dismissed for statute of limitations in 2024. BirGün
Where?
Ergene basin in Trakya (Thrace), Turkey; wastewater is sent to the Sea of Marmara. Bianet
When?
Complaint in 2011; criminal case dismissed in 2024 (BirGün); deep discharge since 2020 (BirGün). BirGün
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Plaintiffs in the civil case — Expert-witness costs of about 1.5 million lira Bianet
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Industrial effluent reached the river; the basin's wastewater is now sent to the Marmara Sea through deep discharge. BirGün
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

BirGün reported in July 2024 that a criminal case opened after a 2011 complaint was dismissed for statute of limitations, after expert reports had linked the pollution to industry.

BirGün reported that since 2020 about 300,000 cubic metres of wastewater a day has gone to the Sea of Marmara by deep discharge instead of the river.

TRT Haber reported that 1,152 inspections were carried out in the basin in 2025 and 21 facilities were halted.

Bianet reported that a 1.5 million lira expert-witness fee in a civil case made access to justice impossible.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the industrial operators, or who issued the deep-discharge permit.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state the outcome of the civil case beyond the expert-witness fee.
    • Unclear Reported but not verified: the 2020 public spending figure was announced as both 2.5 and 6.5 billion lira at the same ceremony; the sources reviewed do not say which is correct.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state the basis for the 106 million lira in fines.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Statute of limitations, time-barred
    The legal time limit for bringing or completing a case. A time-barred case can no longer lead to a penalty, even if guilt was found.
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