On Monday, May 20, 2019, the Administrative Court in Split rejected the lawsuit of Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development Sunce, the Association KEKS and the Municipality of Unešić, which confirmed the decision of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
The decision of the Ministry was made after the assessment procedure on the need to assess the impact of the project – the construction of the Lećevica Waste Management Center on the environment. In this procedure, the Ministry concluded that the project was acceptable, and that it was not necessary to re-prepare the environmental impact study.
During the dispute, the legal team of Association Sunce insisted on the need to prepare an environmental impact study and a more serious assessment of the impact of this project on the environment. It also stated a number of reasons why it believes that the construction of the Center could have a potentially negative impact on the environment and human health.
One of the lawsuits, which according to the plaintiff is disputed, is the capacity of the Center, which is not clearly determined, i.e. it is not possible to determine with certainty how much municipal waste will come to the plant and how a certain type of waste will be disposed of. The center is designed as part of a unique waste management system in the county, which means that the amount of waste brought into it and disposed of there, directly depends on the amount of waste generated and properly separated and recycled at the level of municipalities and cities in our county. Given the poor results of all local government units in the county, there is a justified fear that the capacity of the Center will actually increase significantly, which will have a direct impact on the environment of the wider area in which it will be built.
A written explanation of the court decision to all parties to the dispute will be delivered later, by mail. Association Sunce will appeal against the court’s ruling and decision to the High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia within the legal deadline and use the legal tools available at the European Union level.