{"id":30805,"date":"2025-03-03T13:42:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T12:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/?p=30805"},"modified":"2025-11-21T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T14:06:00","slug":"public-consultation-on-the-environmental-impact-study-for-cgo-lecevica-assessing-the-impact-or-legalizing-whats-already-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/activities\/public-consultation-on-the-environmental-impact-study-for-cgo-lecevica-assessing-the-impact-or-legalizing-whats-already-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Consultation on the environmental impact study for WMC Le\u0107evica: Assessing the impact or legalizing what’s already done?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we already argued back in 2017 before the Administrative Court, and later before the High Administrative Court \u2013 which rejected our claims \u2013 the environmental impact assessment procedure for the Le\u0107evica Waste Management Center (WMC) should have been initiated due to changes made to the project (link<\/a>). Had the procedure been carried out then, it would have served its purpose, as it would have taken place before construction began and before any environmental interventions were made<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the procedure is being conducted following an order from the European Commission, which warned the Regional Center for a Clean Environment that an environmental impact assessment is obligatory for the Le\u0107evica Waste Management Center. This requires preparing a comprehensive environmental impact study that must examine all environmental consequences of the project, as well as propose appropriate environmental protection measures and monitoring programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The request to conduct the an environmental impact assessment procedure was submitted in May 2024, yet construction at the Le\u0107evica site has been progressing simultaneously. The completed environmental impact study must undergo public consultation, which will run from 17 February to 18 March<\/strong>. During this period, all interested parties can submit comments and observations. A public hearing is scheduled for 5 March at 11:00 AM at the Multifunctional Center Fra Ante Konstantina Matasa<\/strong>, Trg Ante Bu\u017ean\u010di\u0107a Tice 4, Le\u0107evica. Representatives of the project developer and the Study\u2019s authors will be present to provide direct answers and discuss questions raised by those in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, construction at Le\u0107evica continues at full speed \u2013 while the Study is still up for debate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ex-post environmental impact assessments: evaluating impacts after the project has already begun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Environmental impact assessment is meant to be carried out before a project begins<\/strong>! The very purpose of the procedure is preventive, to avoid environmental damage. The process ends with a decision on whether the proposed project is environmentally acceptable or not, and that decision can be challenged before an administrative court. It is unclear how effective judicial protection can even be in cases where the EIA procedure begins only after the project is already under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Le\u0107evica-CGO\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, this reversed and illogical practice is common in Croatia. A project is retroactively declared environmentally acceptable once it has already been built, even though it is then impossible to examine baseline environmental conditions and therefore impossible to accurately assess the project\u2019s potential impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such practices undermine the basic provisions of the Aarhus Convention, EU directives, and the Environmental Protection Act, all of which are designed to prevent environmental harm. When procedures are carried out after the construction project is finished, the environmental damage has already occurred, and the precautionary principle becomes nothing more than an empty phrase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WMC Le\u0107evica is not the only example. We often receive reports from citizens about projects that were carried out without an EIA, even when one was clearly required by the Regulation on Environmental Impact Assessment. After inspection, investors are usually instructed to conduct an environmental procedure \u2013 even though the project has already been executed \u2013 especially in cases of illegal landfilling or coastal infill. Restoring the environment to its previous condition or compensating for the damage caused by unauthorized interventions happens in less than 1% of cases, despite being an entirely valid measure that inspectors are empowered to impose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government Action plan: acceleration over quality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Civil society organizations united in the Green Forum network have been warning for years about shortcomings in EIA procedures, including ex-post assessments and poor public information and participation. In October 2024, the government conducted a public consultation on its Action plan to improve the efficiency of these procedures, but the proposed measures focus mainly on speeding up processes, not improving their quality or transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Forum submitted comments highlighting the need for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n