THE WESTERN-SLOVAK town of Smolenice and the civil initiative called 'Smolenice without an Incinerator' launched a petition against a project of industrial waste incinerator that the local chemicals producer Chemolak plans to build on its premises.
The petition is a reaction to the Environmental Ministry’s position on the project from March 2, in which it issued its positive recommendation of the project with a number of comments that need to be incorporated in the investment plan, the SITA newswire reported.
According to Vladimír Polák, a representative of the civil initiative, they will address the petition to the Environmental Ministry as well as to the Regional Public Health Office in Trnava. They also want to ask Prime Minister Robert Fico for assistance within two weeks. The activists want to collect signatures under the petition until it is decided that there will be no hazardous waste incinerator built in Smolenice.
The civil initiative objects to the whole EIA process. According to Polák, the respective authorities evaluated data provided by the investor which had not been otherwise verified.
In its position, the ministry specified 45 requirements that condition its approval of the project, and that concern the preparatory phase, construction, as well as operation of the incinerator. The ministry’s position is also the final step that completes the Environmental Impact Assessment process.
The maximum annual capacity of the incinerated is to be 3,500 tonnes. The investor will generate only about one-third of the volume, while the rest will come from other sources. Affected municipalities claim that the investor wants to pursue its own business interests. The start of the construction is set for this year.
