Norms to Narratives: Legal and Ecolinguistic Insights from the S.I.O.T. and Ovovia Cases

In my dissertation I'm going to discuss two cases of environmental law and procedures misuse by institutions and how public participation has resulted in these cases being taken to court. Specifically, I'm going to discuss the case of the construction of a methane co-generator by the oil company S.I.O.T., part of the multinational group TAL, in which the proper procedures for the approval of the project were not put in place and the Region approved it, even without the knowledge of the municipalities involved. The legal case involves local groups as well as environmental justice groups represented by the Municipality of Paluzza (UD) vs the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia. While the first case is somewhat concluded, the second I will discuss is very much still ongoing and it revolves around the construction of the “ovovia”, a cable car that would connect Opicina (a fraction of Trieste's Municipality) and the “Porto Vecchio”. This case has caused an uproar from citizens for its lack of consideration of multiple factors including the environmental impact (it would cause the deforestation of more than four hectares of Bosco Bovedo), leading to the establishment of a “No Ovovia” Committee formed by academics as well as citizens and environmental justice groups. The legal case involves citizens and environmental groups vs the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia-Giulia as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Trieste. To highlight the multi-disciplinarity of the degree, both cases will include an ecolinguistic analysis of sentences and relevant statements by the actors involved using the "stories we live by" elaborated by Professor Arran Stibbe.