The Environmental Protection Agency has published a decision ordering the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property to accept the objections from the Strategic Impact Assessment Report on the Spatial Plan.
This means that the Ministry would have to return the Plan for revision, so that the planners would accept the objections that were raised.
The Government adopted the draft Plan on June 12th without the Agency's report and approval. Two parliamentary committees approved the Plan, while the Parliament began and concluded its debate yesterday, although MPs did not have access to the Agency's report and decision. The vote is expected to take place in the coming days.
The Agency issued the decision three days ago and submitted it to the Ministry, but as it is an administrative act, the Ministry has the right to appeal within 15 days.
"The authority responsible for the preparation of the subject plan, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, is ordered to implement the activities planned by the subject plan in accordance with the recommendations and environmental protection measures prescribed by the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Report, and to take them into account when preparing and implementing all planned activities necessary for the adequate implementation of the subject Plan, which relate to; protection and mitigation measures envisaged in order to prevent, reduce and eliminate any significant negative impact of the implementation of the planned activities on human health and the environment; recommendations for the protection of the area covered by the subject plan with special emphasis on the implementation of measures to protect the biodiversity of the area, waters, marine ecosystem and landscape values of the area, which may be endangered during the implementation of the subject plan, as well as the program for monitoring the impact of the implementation of the subject plan on the environment and human health (monitoring)," the Agency's decision stated, among other things.
Significant remarks from the Strategy, which the Agency is now pointing out, also relate to projects that are currently underway and that the Government is trying to push through, such as Velje Brdo, Velika Plaza, Buljarica, the Komarnica and Gornje Kruševo hydroelectric power plants, parts of highways and expressways, the development of new beaches, planning of education and health facilities, opening the Bojana River to traffic...
Some of these remarks were published in the January report, but not a single one of these corrections was published in the final version of the Spatial Plan that was sent to MPs.
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