The director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Milan Gazdić, clarified, regarding the permit issued to "Tehnoput" for the functioning of the asphalt base on Cijevna, that the Water Administration stated in its statement that the plot of the asphalt base is not located in the zone of sanitary protection of the source of "Boljesestra" and that the subject location is 5,6 kilometers as the crow flies from the water source.
The permit, he adds, was issued for eight months.
"The report on the environmental impact assessment for the asphalt base was submitted to this Agency in June of last year, after which a commission was formed to evaluate the report. The Commission's task is to analyze the document and comments submitted during the public forum and public hearings from a professional perspective, and to evaluate whether and to what extent the plant affects the environment and whether, in the end, yes or no to approve the project. The committee worked in the composition of: Gordana Đukanović, MA, B.Sc. Inorganic Technology; Dr. Sead Hadžiablahović, B.Sc. Biologist; Ph.D. Gordana Kasom, B.Sc. Biologist; M.Sc. Radojka Radulović, B.Sc. Metallurgy; M.Sc. Rita Barjaktarović, B.Sc. Biologist and M.Sc. Željko Raičević, B.Sc. Mechanical Engineer. The report was sent in July 2023 to interested bodies, organizations and the interested public and placed for public inspection in the Agency and the Secretariat for Spatial Planning, Environmental Protection and Traffic, Municipality of Zeta. It was also posted on the Agency's website," Gazdić announced.
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It also indicates that, in order to achieve greater transparency, the Agency issued a public invitation to non-governmental organizations in July to propose candidates to the Commission for Elaboration Evaluation, but that there were no interested candidates within the stipulated period.
"In the Small Hall of the KIC, Municipality of Zeta, in August 2023, a public forum was held on the Elaboration in question. The Committee for the Evaluation of the Elaboration, after preparing the individual reports of the members of the commission and harmonizing the views, concluded that the Elaboration in question cannot be approved, without previously made changes and additions mentioned in the Report. The Agency also passed a supplementary Decision on the establishment of a committee for the evaluation of the Elaborate, in which it included a representative of the Regional Waterworks," recalls Gazdić.
He also reminds that "Tehnoput" submitted an innovative Elaborate to the Agency, after which the commission, in a report from February this year, stated that consent could not be issued to the Elaborate in question and requested additional changes and additions.
"In addition to the measures that are foreseen, which concern the protection of air quality, the main objection related to the possibility of the asphalt base operation affecting the Boljesestre water source, which is why an official statement from the Water Administration was requested. In this statement, it was stated that the plot of the asphalt base is not is located in the zone of sanitary protection of the spring and that the location in question is 5.6 km away from the spring as the crow flies," notes Gazdić.
It also indicates that, in accordance with the Decision on the Adoption of the Urban Planning Project "Warehouses and Services - Cijevna" in Podgorica, which was adopted by the Assembly of the Capital City in December 2018, and issued by the UTU from August 2022, the purpose of the location in question is defined, and that the specified planning the document is valid until 2025.
"The agency has issued a temporary consent to the Elaboration of the environmental impact assessment for the asphalt production plant until the period of validity of the planning document (until 2025)," Gazdić points out.
He also notes that the investor is obliged to comply with the measures for preventing, reducing or eliminating harmful effects, which are listed in the updated Elaborate, during the operation of the facility. "In accordance with the current legal regulations in Montenegro, a program for monitoring the state of the environment during the operation of the project has been defined, which must be followed along with the investor's obligation to inform the competent institutions and the public about the results of the measurements," adds Gazdić.
It also indicates that the Agency processes several dozen environmental impact assessment reports on an annual basis.
"Each one is published on the Agency's website, and the interested public is informed through the media. Also, for the sake of greater transparency of the evaluation process and public hearings, non-governmental organizations are regularly invited to nominate their candidates to be members of commissions for evaluation of the evaluation. In the case in question, there was no interested representatives of the civil sector", the announcement concludes.
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