Ash and slag for years to come at Maljevac

The Maljevac landfill near Pljevlja has been the place where ash and slag from the combustion of coal at the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant have ended up for three decades. After the ecological reconstruction of the plant, gypsum has also been added to that list. Although the landfill has been listed for years as one of the ecological black spots in northern Montenegro, the Electric Power Company says that Maljevac has entered the final, planned phase of use, closure and reclamation.

"The Maljevac landfill operates in accordance with a clearly defined phased schedule of closure and reclamation. Cassette 1 has been closed and conserved since 2021 and does not represent a source of negative environmental impact. Its biological reclamation is planned for the coming period, for which the necessary project documentation has been provided. Cassette 2 has been fully technically and biologically recultivated. Cassette 3 is currently in operation, with a projected period of use until mid-2027, after which it will also be recultivated. The design of cassette 4 is underway, which will provide additional disposal capacity for a period of three to four years. Upon its closure, the reclamation of the entire Maljevac landfill will be completed. The total timeframe for the use of the landfill may be extended depending on the volume of purchase and valorization of by-products, which remains one of the strategic directions of action," EPCG replied to "Vijesti".

The closure plan includes complex technical and biological measures, redirecting the Paleški stream, building perimeter canals, preventing the formation of seepage, covering the landfill with waterproof layers and geocomposites, filling in a layer of fertile soil and phased greening with grasses, shrubs and trees. The goal, as stated in the planning documentation, is to prevent the penetration of precipitation into the landfill body, prevent the formation of gases and seepage, and prevent wind and water erosion.

According to the plan, the recultivation of Maljevac should turn it into a green plateau, integrated into the surrounding landscape, without a geomorphological connection to the natural slopes in the hinterland. A ravine will remain between the recultivated area and the natural terrain, as a kind of physical boundary of the former landfill.

Whether Maljevac will truly become an example of successful rehabilitation or will remain a long-term reminder of the cost of generating electricity from coal will depend on how consistently the plans from the project documentation are implemented on the ground and how long the need for ash from the thermal power plant to have a place to be disposed of will last.

The thermal power plant burns about 1,3 million tons of coal annually, of which 25 to 30 percent remains in the form of ash. During about 30 years of operation, it is estimated that between nine and ten million tons of ash and slag have been deposited at Maljevac, which has so far been transported to the landfill by a hydromixture of water and ash.

The documentation accompanying the request to the relevant Ministry for issuing urban planning and technical conditions for cassette 4 states that this method of disposal has caused a number of negative impacts on the environment, from air pollution with suspended particles, to pollution of surface and groundwater, to degradation of agricultural land and disruption of the ecosystem in the vicinity of the landfill.

After the ecological reconstruction of the TPP, approximately 730.000 cubic meters of ash, slag and gypsum are generated annually. These by-products are, according to the waste catalog, categorized as non-hazardous waste, but in the future they will be disposed of in a different way, by dry transport, without mixing with water.

For this purpose, the construction of a special road between the Thermal Power Plant and the landfill is planned, in order to avoid transport through settlements and reduce the impact on local roads and the population.

In the previous period, EPCG purchased a large number of plots and buildings in a 300-meter zone around the active cassette, and construction is not allowed in that area because it represents a landfill protection zone.

The Šumana location is planned as the next phase for the disposal of by-products, but only after cassette 4 at Maljevac is closed.

"Key preparatory activities are currently being carried out, including the development of the Preliminary Design of the by-product transport system, the Main Design of the landfill construction and the Environmental Impact Assessment Study at the Šumane location. Only after the completion of these procedures and the fulfillment of all legal requirements will it be possible to begin operational use of this location," EPCG responded.