The photos of the white Neretva taken at the beginning of the month and the fear of starting the road of no return made it real. And in the upper course, the Neretva changed from an emerald green color to white. The eerily white Neretva is a consequence of the construction of the Ulog Hydropower Plant.
In the northern part of Herzegovina, in Ulog, on the upper course of the Neretva River, the construction of the 35 MW Ulog Hydroelectric Power Plant and a system of seven smaller hydroelectric plants, which make up the Upper Neretva Hydropower System, is underway. The Government of Republika Srpska (RS) also gave permission for its construction.
“Hydro-ecological excesses occurred which were predictable – a large amount of limestone material is consumed and such a color would be the result of the consumption of carbonates that have that white color. That would be a physical problem. However, the death of fish warns us that there was also chemical pollution there,” warns Academician Muriz Spahic, hydrologist.
The company EFT, owned by Vuk Hamovic, received the construction concession for 30 years, while there were indications that it would be 50 years. The partners in the project are the Chinese company Sinohydro, which, among others, worked on the Pocitelj bridge, where the slab cracked in early August. The only fear greater than who is performing the work is that the construction area is a place where tectonic fractures meet, adds Spahic.
“In 2010 when it was necessary to obtain permits, the company EFT – the owner of hydropower plant Ulog, which turned the Neretva into sludge and which killed the fish in that part of the river – advertised that the hydroelectric power plant would comply with all the European Union (EU) directives, as would environmental standards the likes of which have not been seen before. Here, we can now see what it looks like,” noted Anes Podic, from the Association Eko Akcija.
In the joint statement of the Ministries of Environment and Tourism and Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), it was stated that the authorities of the RS never obtained the opinion of the relevant institutions of the Federation – and that they were obliged to. They will send the initiative to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly to resolve the issue. And speaking of the state, the audit report states that in the previous year Elektroprivreda BiH bought coal from the bidders EFT Rudnik and Thermal Power Plant (Termoelektrana) Stanari, which was owned by Vuk Hamovic. Value is about 47 million BAM, Federalna reports.
E.Dz.
