During a meeting held on Monday, April 6, at the Victoria Palace, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan ordered the intensification of controls on operators who exploit mineral aggregates from riverbeds and the tightening of legislation to prevent abuses and protect natural resources.
“In a working session held today, at the Victoria Palace, the Prime Minister asked the Ministry of the Environment, the National Administration of Romanian Waters, the National Environmental Guard and the National Regulatory Authority in the Mining, Petroleum and Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide to work, under the coordination of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, on amending the legislation, based on an accelerated calendar“, the Government transmits in a statement.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, based on the proposals of the Ministry of the Environment, aims to limit the duration of licenses, the surface and the depth of exploitations for fishing facilities and recreational lakes, as well as the introduction of stricter controls on operators.
Also, financial guarantees will be applied to restore the environment in case of non-compliance.
“The normative act that will include these legislative changes will be approved by the Government as a priority. The legislation will also be supplemented by control measures applied through the Ballast Radar platform, which will be launched by the Ministry of the Environment, together with the ballast inspector, a site that was launched a week ago and already has over 30,000 hits.”
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan asked state institutions to collaborate and provide data to intensify controls, after an analysis of Romanian Waters shows that, in the last 10 years, more than 1,200 approvals for fish ponds were issued, but less than 10% were carried out.
The Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests also found that many mining of mineral aggregates were done under the pretext of setting up such ponds.
The ministry’s analysis shows that, based on authorizations for fish ponds, more than 230 million cubic meters of mineral aggregates were exploited, a phenomenon concentrated in several watersheds and correlated with large infrastructure construction sites.
The National Regulatory Authority in the Mining, Petroleum and Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide (ANRMPSG) will contribute information and expertise to the amendment of the legislation, in order to protect natural resources and comply with the conditions for the rigorous issuance of exploitation licenses and permits.
