Non-governmental organizations Eko-team, Center for Protection and Study of Birds, Dinarida Parks, Green Home and WWF Adria, today submitted to the Agency for Nature and Environmental Protection a request to cancel the existing environmental consent for the small hydroelectric plant "Crnja" in the municipality of Kolašin.
They remind that the valid approval for the construction of a small hydroelectric power plant (MHP) on the Crnja watercourse was issued on February 1, 2011, and they point out that, considering that almost 10 years later the project has still not been implemented, and that in the meantime the area has been declared With the "Komovi" nature park, the existing consent needs to be cancelled. It is important, as they state, to note that the declaration of the area as a nature park changes all ecological and economic parameters, so the valid environmental consent can be considered outdated and that the prescribed protection measures are not relevant.
"If the consent is not revoked, the implementation of this project may significantly affect the hydrology and morphology of the river and river habitats, preventing the migration of protected and other species, disruption of the sediment flow, changes in the ecological regime of the flow, as well as changes in the seasonal cycles of floods and all other negative impacts on terrestrial species and habitats. Because of all this, detailed field research is necessary in order to assess the real impacts of the planned MHP in Bara Kraljski", said civil society organizations.
Continuation of the implementation of the MHP construction project according to the outdated agreement would be illegal, the NGO points out, because it is in contradiction with the Law on Nature Protection and the decision to declare the "Komovi" Nature Park. Any exploitation of that species in the area of the nature park, they add, would threaten the most important features, values and role of the park and would lead to damage to surface or underground geological, hydrogeological and geomorphological values, impoverishment of biological diversity and pollution or endangerment of underground and surface water sources.
"We propose that the valid environmental consent be canceled and that the environmental impact assessment procedure be initiated again. The repeated procedure must be transparent and conducted in consultation with all interested parties, as provided by law. However, based on the existing protection, as well as all the impacts that the realization of this project could have, it is clear that a new environmental consent cannot be issued because it would directly violate the relevant laws and the Constitution of Montenegro", the civil society organizations concluded.
In the end, they conclude, it is important to note that it has already been proven that there is no public interest in projects for the production of electricity from small hydropower plants. "Furthermore, such production causes direct economic and environmental damage to the state and its citizens," the announcement concludes.
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