At the location of the former "Podi" quarry in the hinterland of Herceg Novi, stone is still being exploited illegally, without the necessary permits, consents, concessions and studies on environmental protection, but competent inspections do not stop the work.
This is claimed by the NGO Concessionaires of Technical-Building Stone and Architectural-Building Stone (TG-AG), while the company "Implemenia", which allegedly prepares the ground for the construction of the hotel, points out that they are doing everything in accordance with the law.
The Ministry of Energy and Mining told "Vijesta" that they received several reports from concessionaires from that coastal city about illegal exploitation at that location, and that the case is under the jurisdiction of the mining inspection.
The Administration for Inspection Affairs (UIP) stated that numerous inspections - mining, environmental, market and other - visited the "Podi" location, and that during the summer of last year they planned to pass a decision on a ban on work. This was not done then due to, as they explained, a letter from the local Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Construction.
About ten days ago, "Vijesti" asked for answers from the Municipality of Herceg Novi, i.e. whether they had received reports, what is stated in the opinion of the Secretariat and what are the powers of the local self-government if irregularities are found. The answers did not arrive until last night.
In order to determine the potential damage caused to the environment, the procedure was initiated in September last year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
From the company "Implemenia", which is renovating and recultivating the area in the "Podi" location for the purpose of building a hotel, they claim that they have the necessary documentation and that compliance with the law has been established by competent services and inspections.
SDT rejected the criminal complaint
The former quarry "Podi" was managed by the construction company "Prvoborac", which was privatized at the beginning of the century, and the inspection closed it in 2011.
From the NGO "TG-AG", which consists of 15 quarry concessionaires, they claim that it is Tony Laban, the owner of the plots on which the former quarry is located, received approval in 2015 to rehabilitate and recultivate the area and permanently close the quarry. They state that this was not done, and that the deadline for the works expired in 2019, after which the company "Implemenia" took over the work at the location with the same task. They also state that the construction of a hotel with an observation deck is also planned.
They claim that the company only registered the construction, that they do not have the necessary permits and that the exploitation of stone has not stopped since the end of 2015.
Because of these and the suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, in October of last year that NGO filed a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against persons in the former Ministry of Capital Investments (today's Energy and Mining), the Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Construction in Herceg Novi, plot owner Toni Laban, his son Luka Laban and the company "Implemenia", director of the Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP) Ana Vujošević and environmental and mining inspectors in the UIP.
Ten days ago, "Vijesti" asked for answers at SDT's address. Specifically, did they consider the case and start the procedure, if so - at what stage is it and did they determine anything.
The Prosecutor's Office did not submit the answers, and the criminal complaint was rejected in the meantime.
Unfair competition or legitimate business
NGOs claim that unfair competition has been created, that stone from the "Podi" site is sold at a significantly lower price, that no VAT is paid, and no concession for that work.
"With their illegal activity since 2015, first as a private person, and later as a legal entity, under the pretext that rehabilitation and recultivation will be carried out and that a hotel with a lookout point will then be built there, the applicants joined together and each of their illegal activities participated in damage to the budget of Montenegro. The quantities of materials that were taken from the quarry and sold are enormous and can easily be calculated, according to experts in the geodetic and construction professions", said this NGO.
On the other hand, the executive director of the company "Implemenia" Luka Laban said that he is not familiar with this NGO, nor with the report to the SDT, and that he rejects the allegations. He explained that his company has the necessary documentation, which, he said, was confirmed by competent inspections.
"...That the company in which I am the executive director carries out illegal exploitation of stone, I reject these allegations with indignation. "Implemenia" operates in everything in accordance with positive legal regulations of the state of Montenegro and does not carry out illegal exploitation of stone. "Implemenia has all the necessary documentation for all the work it does, and what has been established by the competent inspections in the past," he said.
EPA: Impact assessment report required but not required
The EPA said that they have initiated a procedure to determine responsibility for damage to the environment, due to the alleged illegal exploitation of stone with the production of fractions for concrete. They emphasized that they initiated the procedure on September 12, 2023.
"The procedure for determining responsibility for environmental damage or imminent threat of environmental damage is still ongoing. After its completion, the interested public will have an overview of the solution in question on the Agency's portal", the EPA stated.
When asked whether "Implemenia" requested approval for an environmental impact assessment report for the rehabilitation and recultivation of the area, and whether that document is needed for this work, the EPA stated that this company has not requested approval so far and that it is for remediation is obliged to do so.
The UIP explained that the environmental inspection in the spring determined that a mobile stone crushing and concrete production plant had been set up at the "Podi" location, for which the inspector did not know whether the environmental impact procedure had been carried out. They state that "Implemenia" for rehabilitation and recultivation had urban-technical (UT) conditions issued by the Secretariat for Construction in 2019 and that after the revised main project, they submitted a construction application to the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism.
That inspection then, after the inspection, announced the adoption of a decision prohibiting further work because the rehabilitation was carried out without an environmental impact assessment procedure. According to that decision, construction would be prohibited until approval of the study on environmental impact assessment is obtained, or a decision is made that the preparation of the study is not necessary. After that, on July 18, 2023, when the UIP was supposed to send a decision prohibiting the execution of works, that process was suspended, because they received a letter from the company "Implemenia" and an act from the Secretariat for Construction.
"The reason for suspending the decision from July 18 is the position of the authority that issued the UT conditions that the plants are mobile and that they are not fully recognized as such by the Regulation on projects for which an environmental impact assessment is carried out and that there is a positive audit report for the project as a prerequisite for construction", it is stated in the response of the UIP, as well as that a revision of the main project was carried out and that through it the compliance of the project with UT conditions, the law and special laws was checked.
Six mining inspections
The UIP claims that they additionally contacted the Secretariat for Ecology and Energy Efficiency of Herceg Novi, in order to determine whether it is necessary to carry out an environmental impact assessment. In response, as they said, they were told that this Secretariat is conducting an environmental impact assessment procedure for the recultivation of the "Podi" site. The last letter of the environmental inspection to this authority was at the end of November last year, but the solution is still unknown.
After that, the Secretariat submitted a response according to which there is no legal basis for conducting the procedure or making a decision in terms of the provisions of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment. In that letter, as claimed by the UIP, it is stated that "in the process it was determined that a complete revised technical documentation was previously prepared and a construction report was submitted, which the competent inspection supervision found to have been submitted in accordance with the law", and that no irregularities were found even by the mining inspection".
The UIP explained that the mining inspector visited the "Podi" site six times, noting that he controls the potential exploitation of mineral resources, but only concessionaires who have signed a concession agreement with the Government for detailed geological research and exploitation. They stated that it controls the mines, and that in this case it is neither a mine nor a quarry. The "Podi" locality was mostly, as they said, checked for reports of illegal exploitation.
"So far, the mining inspection has carried out a total of six inspections at the company 'Implemenia' based on initiatives. During the execution of the same, no irregularities were observed in terms of the Law on Mining and the Law on Health and Safety at Work".
They explained that in the case of this company, stone extraction is carried out in accordance with the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Buildings and approved construction documentation, but also under the supervision of the Urban Planning and Construction Inspection, which did not find any irregularities.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Energy and Mining pointed out that they had received complaints about illegal exploitation at the "Podi" site. They explained that the applications came from concessionaires from Herceg Novi, namely the companies "Krušo", "Bokić" and "Bekommerc". From that department, they pointed out that they were referred to the UIP and the competent mining inspection.
They explained that they did not have a contract with the company "Implemenia" on the concession for the exploitation of mineral raw materials, and that the company did not ask for a permit to work at this location.
Inspections found irregularities
In addition to mining and environmental, the work of the company "Implemenia" was checked twice during 2023 by labor and occupational health and safety inspections, and once by market inspections, emphasized the UIP.
In addition, they said that the market inspection found an irregularity in the part of compliance with the Law on Internal Trade, but "Implemenia" acted according to the decision of the inspector and eliminated the irregularity.
In the spring, the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection imposed an administrative reprimand on the company and issued a misdemeanor order.
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