The Montenegrin Littoral Regional Waterworks filed an appeal against the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give the green light to the private company "Tehnoput" to open an asphalt base on the banks of the lower reaches of the Cijevna River.
And while the Regional Waterworks warns that the opening of an asphalt base in the Zeta village of Mahala could threaten the quality and quantity of water from the source of Bolje sestre and announces the initiation of proceedings against the EPA and the Water Administration if the appeal is not accepted, the state institution rejects the accusations.
The state company and the institution also argue about whether the location of the asphalt base is within the sanitary protection zone of the Bolje sestre water source - from the Regional Waterworks they claim that it is, which the EPA denies.
At the end of March, the company "Tehnoput" received from the EPA a temporary approval for the environmental impact assessment report for the asphalt base.
The asphalt base is planned near the Zeta settlement of Mahala, at the confluence of Cijevna and Morač, that is, about 5,5 kilometers from the Bolje sestre water source. That source is located in the basin of Mali Blat of Lake Skadar, into which the Morača flows.
The company "Tehnoput" said that their base will be the most modern facility, which will not pollute water, air or land.
That company already had a plant on the banks of the Cijevna, but it was closed two years ago due to a lack of permits.
They explained that since then they have been working on opening a new base, on a plot about a hundred meters away from the old one.
There are currently two bases operating on the coast of Cijevna, one belongs to the company of the Capital City "Roads", and the other is owned by the private companies "Bemax" and "Genex".
The residents of the nearby Mahala settlement, who have been protesting the operation of the bases near their houses, are firmly against the existing and relocated facilities. They want the relocation of all the bases, and they told "Vijesta" that they are ready for protests in order to achieve this, because, as they claim, soil, air and water are being polluted, waste water, dust, unpleasant odors, noise...
They share the position of the Regional Waterworks that the base will threaten the source of Bolje sestre.
In order to solve the problem, the Municipality of Zeta, to which Mahala belongs territorially, stated that the relocation of the bases must be foreseen by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property in the planning documents. They announced that Zeta will demand this when creating detailed urban plans (DUP).
"Technoput" without a water permit
EPA Director Milan Gazdić recently announced that the Committee for Evaluation of the Elaborate, due to the risk to the source, asked for the opinion of the Water Administration during the evaluation of the document, after which it was determined that the base is not located in the sanitary protection zone of the water source and that it is 5,6 kilometers from the source of Bolje by air sisters.
Gazdić stated that "Tehnoput" received temporary approval for the study, until 2025.
According to the decision, the study was done in accordance with the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and contains the necessary measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate harmful impacts. In addition, there is a possibility of appealing this agreement to the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, within 15 days.
The Water Administration clarified that the EPA is responsible for evaluating the study, and that they only commented on the location of the plot in relation to sanitary protection zones.
"After reviewing the data, the Administration stated that the parcel in question is not covered by the second sanitary protection zone, nor the planned third protection zone of this source. It is important to emphasize that this activity of the Water Administration did not include giving an opinion or consent in connection with the assessment of the impact of the asphalt base project on the environment," the Administration pointed out.
They stated that according to the Law on Water, they did not issue a water permit to "Tehnoput", because that company did not meet the necessary conditions. They emphasized that the asphalt base could have a great impact on water pollution, which is why the conditions for permits are strict, and that "Tehnoput", even after receiving a negative decision, did not submit a new request for a water permit.
They pointed out that the project of the zones and the definition of their boundaries was implemented by the Regional Waterworks, and that this company is responsible for protecting the source from pollution.
This was also confirmed by the Regional Water Supply to the "News", and they said that their job is to protect zones where "it is forbidden to build industrial and facilities whose waste water and other materials from the technological production process can pollute surface and underground water". That is why, as they state, it is strictly forbidden to give consent for the construction of facilities that may threaten the spring of Bolje sestre, i.e. the quality of its water.
The regional water supply that supplies the coast of Montenegro with water has been fighting for the protection of the Bolje Sestre spring for years, but the appeals mostly went without a reaction from the authorities, which is why the yield of the spring fell from 2.600 liters per second to 265, which was measured during the summer of 2021 and 2022. ..
The state company said that both the EPA and the Administration are working on source protection, as well as that the Administration established three sanitary protection zones in the decision on source protection zones from December 2008. That is why, as they claim, they are worried because now those who are supposed to work on the protection of the source are contributing to the non-compliance with the measures.
"In the letter for the elaboration of asphalt bases, the administration presents contradictory views and does not respect its own solution. When stating that the plant is not located in the II zone of sanitary protection, he refers to his decision. Unfortunately, the Administration does not remain consistent in stating that it is located in the third zone of sanitary protection. She resorts to exhibitions and states that it is not in the proposed III zone of sanitary protection. Therefore, she did not refer to the valid provisions of her own decision, but to the proposals of the document that she sent back for revision. A special question is why everyone wants to set up facilities in the sanitary protection zones in the Morača river bed, that is, whether one of the reasons is the use of aggregates located in the river bed", they stated from the Regional Waterworks.
They pointed out that they have already filed an objection to the EPA's decision, and that in case the appeal is not accepted, after the meeting of the company's Board of Directors, they will initiate proceedings with the competent authorities and institutions. They announced that it would be against the Administration and the EPA, due to non-compliance with the decision on protection zones.
"The base is not a danger"
The company "Tehnoput" explained that according to the DUP "Skladište servisi Cijevna", this location is intended for industry and production and that based on that, the Podgorica Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development issued urban and technical conditions (UTU).
They pointed out that they will install a "Global 160 quick" type plant produced by the company "Ammann", which will not affect the demographic characteristics. According to the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Buildings, as they state, they submitted a construction application and complete documentation to the Ministry of Spatial Planning. They claim that everything was done according to the law, which, they claim, is also shown by the statement of the Water Administration that they received at the end of last year, according to which the plot does not belong to the second or third proposed sanitary protection zone of the source of Bolje sestre.
"There are no protected natural and cultural assets in this zone, so the implementation of the project will not have an impact on them and the environment. The asphalt base will in no way affect the possible pollution of water, air or land, which is guaranteed by measures to prevent impacts during construction, the plant has filters and purification systems that do not allow harmful impacts. Such bases exist all over the world, and there are most of them in Europe, where some are even located in urban areas because they do not pose a danger", say "Technoput", and state that they want to put the base into operation in the next few months, and that it depends on the manufacturer's representative who will do the installation.
They also stated that their consent lasts until the end of the year, and that two plants are already operating at this location.
Previous base closed, owner arrested, dispute ongoing
"Tehnoput" previously had an asphalt base on the coast of Cijevna, but the facility was closed in 2022, after it was determined that they were operating on state land and without the necessary permits. In January 2023, that company started moving the facility to a plot about a hundred meters away and requested the necessary permits, but the process was suspended due to missing documentation and violation of the official seal. On that occasion, the owner of the company was arrested Saša Acimić, by order of the Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT).
Head of the prosecution Dusko Milanović, then told "Vijesta" that the state prosecutor on duty ordered the officials of the Security Center to detain Aćimić, "due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that he committed the prolonged criminal offense of building a building without registration and documentation for construction and the criminal offense of removing and violating the official seal and sign".
Aćimić was released to defend himself three days later, an indictment was filed against him and the company, and the dispute is still ongoing.
Locals are threatening a blockade
That these are long-standing problems, that the earlier "Technoput" base worked using the most primitive technology and that they thought that problem had been solved, said the resident of Mahala. Tatjana Torbica. She pointed out that they believed that "Tehnoput", after the base was sealed, would move the plant somewhere where it would not disturb and pollute, but that did not happen. She explained that the building was moved about a hundred meters.
"They got consent, and we found out about it only five or six days ago. We found out that the public hearing was held in the Municipality of Zeta on August 4, 2023, during the annual holidays, and of the 260 houses we have here, no one saw that the media announced it, so it was not transparent. They must have followed the procedure to publish it in detail on the last page of the daily newspaper. "It was deliberately intended that it pass under the radar and that no one appeared at that public discussion, which is what happened, their plan was completely successful, someone obviously advised them well," said Torbica.
He also claims that a few years ago they received a promise from Gazdić that an assessment of the damage caused by the operation of asphalt bases on Cijevna would be done. She added that this document was never delivered to the locals because, as she states, it would be evidence of water, air, land pollution and the devastation of the coastal part of Cijevna.
Torbica points out that it is a matter of millions of jobs and that they are connected to the exploitation of gravel. In addition, she clarified that the situation is only a consequence, and that the cause of everything is the planning documents, i.e. the fact that the former head of the Capital City Miomir Mugoš decided to put bases there.
He also says that he believes that Podgorica has a stepmotherly relationship with Zeta, which is why they have problems with the aluminum plant and red mud, the collector, the exploitation of gravel, bases...
As she said, that part of Zeta was categorized as "Services and warehouses" in the planning documents, but later, without dialogue with the locals, it was transformed into an industrial zone. Thus, as he claims, from Tuški put to Mahala, investors who need studies on the impact on the environment, that is, polluters, will build. He points out that this is why, in addition to car parks and warehouses, refineries, smelters and ironworks can now be set up.
He claims that the locals are not against the development of the city, but that they do not want polluters near their houses, about which they have written to the capital several times, but have not received an answer.
"I think that the Municipality of Zeta will have much greater powers than it has at the moment. The Spatial Plan (PPCG) is being prepared, it will not be able to deal with details, but it can indicate the intended use of the space, or what would be planned in that part. Zeta will have the opportunity at the local level for the municipality to address its local plan in relation to the needs of the community. I think the Zeta Municipality is on the move now, we don't know what they did, we don't have information if they attended the public discussion related to the PPCG", stressed Torbica and added that they are working on scheduling a meeting in the municipality there, but that the process is not going easily. .
She stressed that she will file an appeal due to the EPA's approval of the study, and that the Bolje sestre water source is also threatened, because waste water from the bases is discharged into Cijevna. He says that he believes that the source protection is now being blamed and that the area was deliberately left out of the third protection zone.
Torbica also states that the locals know that none of the bases has a water permit.
He also confirmed that all three bases must be removed Radula Rakonjac and emphasized that the company "Bemax" has millions of cubic meters of stored gravel that creates dust. He claims that the locals have the support of the Municipality of Zeta, but that until demarcation, the competence will be in the hands of the Capital City.
Rakonjac announced that if the appeal does not bear fruit, he will organize protests and block the entrances to the asphalt bases.
The approval received by "Tehnoput" surprised even the local residents of Mahala Saša Bošković, who stated that that company had worked for ten years in that place without permits. After a decade of addressing the authorities, as he said, they were banned from working, and later they repeatedly violated the official seal. He explained that the base was moved to a new location without permission, but, as he claims, again without permission, which is why it was sealed, and that the owner was arrested after breaking the seal.
Municipality of Zeta for relocation
Valid planning documents under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Spatial Planning allow an asphalt base in this zone, as well as other laws, they told "Vijesta" from the Municipality of Zeta.
They pointed out that this is confirmed by the fact that the plants of "Bemaks" and "Puteva" have been in that place for years.
"The territory where they are located is indisputably the territory of the municipality of Zeta (as well as the entire cadastral municipality of Cijevna). We have certainly had complaints from citizens before, and we are also calling on the competent state inspections to check whether the asphalt bases are working in accordance with the consent given, or if they are in violation of the regulations", stated the Municipality.
They point out that the laws must be the same for everyone and believe that the Ministry of Spatial Planning in the planning documents should foresee the relocation of bases from this zone, which Zeta will ask for during the drafting of DUPs.
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