She wrote to the editorial office:
I live in Bożejowice [...] without access to natural gas. I want to replace coal heating with propane-butane. I would like to take advantage of an offer from a company [...], which, at its own expense, covers the installation of the system at the house (a promotion running until the end of the summer holidays), together with the tank. I have to cover the rest of the installation in the house and the purchase of the boiler from other funds. I know that in some provinces and municipalities it is possible to receive a non-refundable grant. Unfortunately, Bolesławiec municipality has not planned any such funds, and it is not known when they will be available.
She added: “There is so much talk about, and encouragement for, protecting the environment by changing the way homes are heated and about a low-emission economy, but it is all empty talk because residents receive no support from local-government authorities on this matter. There is money to build more village community centers, but support for this type of undertaking receives no recognition at the Municipal Office.”
Czy samorządy powinny dofinansowywać wymianę ogrzewania?
Jarosław Babiasz, head of the Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Land Management Department at the Bolesławiec Municipal Office: “Bolesławiec municipality does not subsidize, and in the near future will not subsidize, this type of investment from the municipal budget. They do not fall within the municipality’s legally defined responsibilities. The municipality is obliged to create the conditions for the expansion of this type of network through appropriate provisions in local law; nevertheless, under the current legal framework, the expansion of the gas network belongs exclusively to the relevant gas companies, just as the expansion of electricity and telephone networks does. The grants mentioned presumably concern the replacement of heat sources under the ‘low-emission programs’ being created. Last year, the Bolesławiec Municipal Council adopted such a program. It defines the tasks and objectives of low-emission policy and makes it possible to obtain funds from various sources to reduce low emissions in households and elsewhere. Nevertheless, current state-budget funds, including grants, are awarded exclusively in municipalities particularly exposed to air pollution, and Bolesławiec municipality is not one of them. Therefore, no funds for this purpose are planned in the near future.”
“At present, the priority task concerning efforts to improve the environment and ecology in Bolesławiec municipality is the Asbestos Removal Program. This year, the municipality will organize and finance the collection and disposal of asbestos-containing waste from properties in Bolesławiec municipality,” the official added. “This year we will also update the Asbestos Removal Program, adopted back in 2012, so that such collection can also be carried out in subsequent years.”
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