The Center for the Environment from Banja Luka sued the competent Ministry of the Republika Srpska (RS) because, in violation of international obligations, it issued an environmental permit for the construction of a thermal power plant to the company of Russian billionaire Rasid Serdarov.
According to the current legislation, an ecological permit is required for projects that may have a negative impact on the environment, which is the case with the project of this thermal power plant “Ugljevik III” in the northeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
The “Ugljevik” thermal power plant is already operating in this small town, which according to data from the “CEE Bankwatch” network, released the largest amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the region last year. Despite the installation of $85 million worth of desulfurization equipment, nearly 87.000 tons of SO2 were released.
In 2013, Serdar’s company “Comsar Energy” received a concession from the RS for the construction of the “Ugljevik III” power plant.
The government of BiH entity last year also extended the possible period of operation of the still unbuilt thermal power plant until 2057.
It also allowed the doubling of power from the originally planned 350 mW to a total of 700 mW, which, according to the Center for the Environment, is in contradiction with the RS Energy Development Strategy.
According to the Center, it is disputed that the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and Ecology of the RS neglected international obligations when issuing an environmental permit.
The representative office of the company “Comsar Energy” claims that the Center does not have the right to sue the Ministry for such matters, and that they are not a party to the proceedings.
Sinisa Majstorovic, director of the representative office of “Comsar Energy” in RS, claims that they have fulfilled all the necessary legal requirements.
In March of this year, the Center found a controversial environmental impact study compiled for the “Ugljevik III” project. At that time, the Center stated that the study was approved prematurely, which prevented participation in the public discussion of neighboring countries, more precisely Croatia.
Skomorac expects a decision on this lawsuit in March 2023.
“In that case, the Ministry has the obligation to stop issuing all permits that are issued on the basis of a decision that is subject to court decision-making. And based on the Law on General Administrative Procedure, a conclusion can be made on the termination of the procedure for issuing an environmental permit,” stressed Skomorac.
In a written response to Radio Free Europe, the RS Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and Ecology said that the court had delivered the lawsuit to them and that they were preparing a response, Radio Slobodna Evropa writes.
E.Dz.
