The European Commission (EC) is initiating an infringement procedure against Romania over the micro hydropower plant projects underway on the Dejani-Lupșa and Vistișoara rivers on the northern slope of the Făgăraș mountains, WWF-Romania said, Act Media agency reported.
In a release, the environmental advocacy and restoration organization states that it has been informed about this move in a June 3 official letter from the European Union body. WWF-Romania representatives told Agerpres agency that the executive institution had informed the authorities in Bucharest that on May 28 legal action would be pursued.
“From information that we hold, the infringement procedure also targets the destructive projects on the southern slope of the Făgăraș mountains, on the Capra and Buda rivers. Confirmation from the European Commission comes a year and a half after WWF filed two formal complaints to the commission, signalling a number of systemic violations of European and national legislation on water and biodiversity, in what concerns the authorization of constructions and their location in protected areas of European interest (Natura 2000),” details the WWF-Romania release.
According to the organization, the initiation of such a procedure follows some far-reaching steps Romania failed to respond to. According to WWF-Romania, other projects have been illegally approved for the Alb river in Retezat mountains, and Bistra Mărului, Şucu and Olteana rivers in Țarcu mountains, where company SC Alset Energy SRL proposed two projects with two MHPs each. In a statement, WWF calls for the urgent intervention of the Ministry of Environment in these cases, Romania-insider.com reported.
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