Javea Grapevine 187 2016 Six | Page 87

sive air operation using satellites and drones. The unmanned aerial vehicles revealed improvements to people’s houses that they had failed to declare to the tax office, such as extensions and swimming pools. The unprecedented investigation, which began in 2014 has generated extra takings of €1.3 ($1.4 billion) for the Land Value Tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles). Spain’s tax office estimates that the fraud occurred in as many as 8.9 percent of the houses registered on Spain’s municiple registers, or padrónes. For full story see: The Local Denia gets two “Black Flags” for beach water pollution The organisation “Ecologistes en Acció del País Valencià” has given the Denia beaches of Punta dels Molins and Punta del Raset black flags for their waters exceeding legal pollution levels. The same organisation also analyses the situation with sew- age treatment works and has given 42 black flags to water treatment works throughout the region - which do not meet parameters established by the European directive 91/271. This list includes the Xàbia sewerage plant. From: La Marina Plaza Denia and the University of Alicante to set up environmental and marine research centre in the Mongó Natural Park. The objective of the research centre is to conduct research, development and innovation, education, counseling, outreach and awareness in the environmental field. The official name of the research centre is ESCIMO-Dénia, (Estación científica Montgó-Dénia) and it will be based in the House of IRYDA, in the natural park Montgó. The University of Alicante will develop activities of interest to both institutions, including studies related to protected natural