Montenegro reviewing new Brodarevo hydro projects plan

In accordance with the Espoo Environmental Impact Assessment Convention, Montenegro will establish a commission to consider the feasibility of the construction of hydropower plants Brodarevo 1 and Brodarevo 2 in Serbia. The document obligates parties to exchange information and monitor whether any cross-border project can cause damage for the environment in a neighbouring country. Public consultation in Serbian border town of Prijepolje was organized after the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection renewed the procedure for a permit to Canadian company

Renewable Energy Ventures d. o. o. Representatives of Montenegro’s Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Environmental Protection Agency said a public call was already placed for the civil sector to participate in the commission. Ilija Radović, Brankica Cmiljanović and Emir Redžepagić (pictured, front) elaborated on the possible cross-border influence on Montenegro and recommendations for the necessary study, the ministry said.

In September, the Administrative Court of Serbia abolished the Serbian government’s decision from 2013 to give consent in relation to the environmental impact assessment study. The Serbian ministry said on February 4 the investor filed an application to get consent for the study for the projects of Brodarevo 1 and Brodarevo 2 on Lim river in southwestern Serbia.

Non-governmental organization Euromost reported Montenegro’s representatives stressed the new study isn’t any different from an earlier version, which wasn’t approved of. Several entities from the civil society filed observations on irregularities in the document.