Environmental activists and representatives of the local community on the banks of the Una River raised their voices again on Wednesday against the project to build a mini power plant at the source of the river.

We will not allow damage to be done to the Una River while we await the outcome of the court proceedings, which will certainly be a guilty verdict for omission and abuse of office by the defendant in this case, some associations stated in a press release after the Croatian Ministry declared on Tuesday that it cannot now declare the final construction permit and other final permits invalid and that these permits can only be cancelled if it is proven that they are the result of criminal offences.

The ministry also stated that the future hydropower plant will be built on the area designated as building land and that it will not encroach on the area designated as a nature reserve.

Criminal complaint filed

This prompted the non-governmental organisations to point out that the site for the future hydropower plant is part of the Natura 2000 ecological network, a network of nature conservation areas in the European Union.

The non-governmental organisations again point out that the investors have failed to carry out a procedure to assess whether the project could be acceptable for the Natura 2000 ecological network.

The NGOs are against giving the investor the opportunity to gain time and further damage the source of the Una River while awaiting the outcome of the ongoing criminal proceedings.

The State Inspectorate (DIRH) recently announced that it has filed a criminal complaint against the official who issued the siting licence for the construction of the small hydropower plant “Una-mlin” in Donja Suvaja at the source of the Una River on suspicion of abuse of office.

The DIRH filed the criminal complaint on the basis of Article 291, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, as announced by the Inspectorate on Thursday.

NGOs ready to lodge a complaint against Croatia with the European Commission

The Environmental Protection Inspection found that the project owner did not seek an opinion from the competent ministry on the need for an environmental impact assessment before amending and supplementing the site licence.

As a result, the inspection issued an administrative offence order.

The non-governmental organisations have announced further protest rallies and have stated that they are prepared to lodge a complaint against Croatia with the European Commission if necessary.

Recently, environmental activists and local residents protested against the construction of the mini-power plant at the source of the Una River and called on the Croatian government to cancel the concession contract for the project and restore the site where construction began to its original state.