After the Environmental Protection Agency issued a decision ordering the suspension of waste disposal and storage at the Mostina temporary landfill, in the municipality of Rožaje, as of Monday, representatives of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Euromost said that they expect the same decisions to be immediately issued for other illegal landfills in northern Montenegro and that the construction of a regional landfill will finally begin.
"Which is not yet in sight, nor has the location been determined, although the current minister promised that the implementation of this important project for the northern region would begin last year," the NGO added in a statement. They said that the Environmental Protection Agency was legally obliged to issue a decision to stop dumping at the Mostina temporary landfill years ago.
"The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development and the Environmental Protection Agency have been violating the Law on Waste Management for years, because they have allowed waste to be disposed of and stored in temporary, unconditioned landfills in municipalities in the north of Montenegro for years and decades without the consent of the Agency, where, among other things, they have caused millions of euros in damage to the environment by not respecting the legal obligation, in accordance with the Law on Waste Management, which clearly states in Article 78 that a temporary landfill can be used for at least one year, from the date of acceptance, or even two years, but on the condition that a fee of ten euros is paid for one ton of municipal waste for each year.
"The Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Ecology, as well as the inspections are aware of all this, but they are not taking any action, because they are obliged by law to collect fees that go to the budget of Montenegro and are intended by law to be used for the construction of waste treatment facilities, the purchase of equipment for waste collection and transport, and the rehabilitation and recultivation of unregulated landfills," the statement said.
The NGO Euromost said that the silence of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development harms citizens, as well as the budget of Montenegro.
"Which is why the prosecutor's office must react and investigate those responsible, because they have allowed utility companies in municipalities in northern Montenegro to not pay their legally prescribed obligations for 20 to 30 years," the statement concludes.
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