Laws Violated During Issuance of Permit for Doljanka Small Hydropower Plant, No Reaction from Responsible Parties

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The citizens' association "Za Doljanku" from Jablanica warned today at a press conference about a series of violated laws and procedures during the issuance of a permit for a small hydropower plant on the Doljanka River, and called on competent institutions to react to the established irregularities and violations of laws.

Procedures and laws were violated by institutions at the local, cantonal, and federal levels. First, the Law on Principles of Local Self-Government of FBiH, the Statute of the Municipality of Jablanica, and the Statute of the Local Community Jablanica II were violated - which guarantee the right and obligation for citizens to be consulted and to decide on the adoption of the municipal budget and plan, especially in the part related to the area of the local community.

"The importance of citizens' opinions in the environmental permit issuance process is best illustrated by the example of the construction of the second planned small hydropower plant on the Doljanka River, when the assembly of citizens of that local community did not give a positive opinion, so no work has even started on it," stated Dženan Šašić, president of the citizens' association "Za Doljanku".

Furthermore, the Doljanka is a natural spawning ground, and according to the Law on Freshwater Fisheries, the construction of small hydropower plants on such rivers is prohibited.

"When we saw that the investor was continuing construction and putting the facility into trial operation, we contacted the Energy Regulatory Agency of FBiH as the last instance that issues operating permits. We informed them in a timely manner about all omissions and procedural violations and urged them not to issue an operating permit when the investor applies, as there are two court cases pending related to procedural violations and breaches of law," said Naza Spahić, vice-president of the Association.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry reacted by requesting the cantonal ministry to provide them with all documentation issued regarding water and preliminary water approvals. This ministry also identified omissions and procedural violations and requested a review of the preliminary water approval. All other institutions shifted responsibility from themselves to others.

We emphasize that two urban planning permits were issued by the municipal construction service, one in accordance with the environmental permit (which was annulled because the investor made changes), and the second was issued at the investor's request, which cannot be done under any circumstances without a new environmental impact study, and especially not by placing part of the pipeline route directly into the riverbed, which was done in the second urban planning permit, according to the statement.

They note that the Environmental Impact Study expired two days ago, as it is valid for three years and the decision was issued on July 12, 2017. A normal procedure in this case would be to conduct a new environmental impact study and thus issue a new environmental permit, which in this case again requires citizen involvement. Even after being informed of the irregularities, we did not receive answers from the Municipality of Jablanica and the competent municipal service.

They also add that they have initiated two court proceedings - one in Sarajevo against the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and another in Mostar against the Ministry of Construction.

They call on the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and Minister Edita Đapo to, in accordance with the conclusion of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, which completely prohibits the construction of small hydropower plants throughout the FBiH, and in accordance with the information about procedural and legal violations in the entire process of permits for the small hydropower plant on the Doljanka River, review the environmental permit issued by this ministry and signed by the minister.

"We hereby call on the Energy Regulatory Agency of FBiH to, when issuing the operating permit, in addition to the evidence we have provided in the comments on the draft permit and the amendment we have made, also take into account this conclusion, which is binding for all institutions in FBiH, and not issue the requested permit. Although we have not received support from institutions in our struggle, we have not lost faith in the rule of law. We hope that all the institutions we have mentioned, which have played significant roles in this entire process, will accept the fact that a whole series of omissions were made in the issuance of documentation, and that at the very beginning, our civic right, guaranteed by all international regulations and state laws, the right to decide and the right to protect nature, was taken away from us," the Association states.