The report on environmental impact assessment for the quarry on Milosevo Karst cannot receive environmental approval due to the remarks and comments of the Commission for its evaluation, so the concessionaire, "Inženjering put", was given a deadline of one year to refine and supplement the document.
This is written in the report on the evaluation of this document, which was adopted by the Commission at the end of May.
The commission had previously proposed rejecting the Elaborate on the Cetinje quarry because it did not contain all the consents, among them for the relocation of transmission lines and the use of the local road. However, those comments were not submitted to the competent Environmental Protection Agency, which is why "Inženjering put" filed a complaint with the Ministry of Tourism. That department then annulled the rejection decision, which is why the Commission is now deciding on this document again. The report was made by the company "Medix".
Locals of Bokovo, Đinovića, Kosijer and the surrounding Cetinje villages have been contesting the construction of a quarry on Milosevo Karst for some time due to, as they state, the danger of dust, exhaust gases, heavy machinery, noise and the destruction of the local road.
"Taking into account the volume of the mentioned objections and comments, the holder of the 'Engineering road' project is given a deadline of 365 days to obtain the necessary permits and approvals and make changes and additions to the study, and to submit it to the Agency, after which the Commission will continue its work," it says. in the Commission's conclusions.
No road permit
In the report, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is also stated that not all impacts on the environment and human health were considered in the study, which is why it was not possible to propose the right measures to prevent the harmful effects of the quarry, nor an adequate monitoring program. It is emphasized that there is a lack of basic data on the current state of parts of the environment, as well as the need for monitoring of all its segments, especially for meteorological parameters and air quality. It is added that the study gave arbitrary assessments of the impact of the quarry on the migration of the local population, which, according to the regulations, cannot be accepted.
"In order to carry out emergency transport on the local road leading to the concession area, the investor is obliged, in accordance with legal regulations, to obtain a permit from the local self-government authority to carry out emergency transport on the public road. Article 17 of the Law on Roads stipulates that the Administrative Authority issues permits for the performance of emergency transport on public roads. This type of permission was not given in the annex to the study," the document emphasized.
It is a country road about three kilometers long that separates from the Podgorica-Cetinje main road, near the village of Bokovo. According to the study, it is not planned to expand the existing one, but to build an access road that would be connected to the local one.
Prijestonica previously told "Vijesta" that traffic conditions are obtained in the process of issuing urban-technical conditions for the construction or reconstruction of buildings, and that they are mandatory for the preparation of the main project, after which the preparation of the revision of the main project and obtaining consent is carried out. The capital already once refused to use this road, because that section is not for simultaneous regular and heavy freight traffic.
In addition, it also says that "Inženjering put" will have to submit approval from the Montenegrin Electric Distribution System (CEDIS) for the relocation of the transmission line, which must be removed for the purpose of carrying out the work, which must also be explained in the report. It is also added that the decision on establishing water conditions, which the concessionaire received from the Water Administration at the end of 2022, has expired, so it is necessary to renew that consent as well.
"Since no groundwater testing has been carried out, and bearing in mind the nature and duration of the proposed activities, it is necessary to conduct adequate hydrogeological research at the microlocation, i.e. investigate the potential presence of groundwater and its quality, and provide a hydrological basis for designing on a suitable scale. Harmonize the study with the current water conditions," the Commission's conclusions say.
They expect the concessionaire to give up
One of the residents of the village of Đinovići Nikola Adzic told "Vijesta" that there were 40 objections to the disputed report, which he pointed out, on more than 100 pages of material and evidence. He emphasized that the residents of his and nearby villages will not give up solving this problem until the report is rejected.
"Considering that the five-member Commission was guided by its profession for the second time and accepted more than 98 percent of the objections, thus proving that the entire project is absurd, our expectation is that the concessionaire together with its political and legal lobby and the Government, which acts as the concessionaire's PR service , abandon the controversial project", said Adžić.
The locals announced earlier that "Inženjering put" has a new lawyer - a representative of the Movement Europe Now (PES). Darko Dragović, and they also asked if his name on the complaint filed by the concessionaire gives it special weight. They also dispute that the Ministry of Tourism makes decisions on the appeal, while it is at the head of it Vladimir Martinovic from the Democrats, who are also coalition partners of PES.
"Vijesti" asked MP Dragović about a possible conflict of interest in this case in mid-May, but the answer has not arrived until today.
In February 2022, at the proposal of the Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI), the government passed a concession act for detailed geological research and exploitation of mineral raw materials for Milosev karst, after which a tender was announced and in August of that year a contract was signed with the Podgorica company "Inženjering put".
The EPA commission for the evaluation of the study then determined at the end of 2023 that the evaluation of that document could not be given until approvals were first obtained, namely for the relocation of the transmission line that passes through the planned quarry and for the use of the local road. "Inženjering put" later asked for an additional extension of the deadline for submitting these permits, which the Commission did not agree with, because, as they stated at the time, the company had to have consent after submitting the study. That's why they asked for rejection.
"Inženjering put" appealed against that decision, because, as they stated, it does not contain reasons about decisive facts, that it is unclear and contradictory, that there are already urban planning and technical conditions issued by the Capital, that there is no decision to ban the use of the local road, that it is not clear why the approval for the relocation of power lines and the reconstruction of the road affect the quality of the submitted report...
Eco-patrols were also formed
Locals who dispute this quarry have so far filed criminal charges with the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), wrote to international organizations, embassies and formed eco-patrols in case the concessionaire with machinery enters their area...
They previously told "Vijesta" that the construction of the quarry will threaten several villages in Cetinje, where about 70 locals live, while a large number of those who visit the villages every day.
However, the Elaborate writes that there are no permanent settlements nearby and that the nearest house is 900 meters away in the village of Bokovo, while the wider area is relatively sparsely populated, and that according to the 2011 census, the village has 38 inhabitants.
Since no groundwater testing has been carried out, it is necessary to conduct adequate hydrogeological research, i.e. investigate the potential presence of groundwater and its quality, and provide a hydrological basis for design
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