An inspection is under way following the disaster linked to renovation work on the Pilchowice Reservoir. As Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska reported, the proceedings are intended to establish whether the investor complied with the conditions set by the environmental authorities when draining the water.
The minister said that an earlier decision imposed a number of obligations on the investor. These included the requirement to remove all animals under the supervision of a nature specialist, as well as maintaining the maximum level of suspended solids in the discharged water at 80 mg/l. The document also provided for the works to be halted if this parameter was exceeded.
As P. Hennig-Kloska indicated on Monday, the results of tests commissioned by the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Wrocław indicate significantly higher values
As we have reported since last week, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Wrocław is conducting an inspection launched following the disaster linked to renovation work on the Pilchowice Reservoir. We want to verify whether the investor complied with the conditions set by the environmental authorities when draining the water.
The minister also added:
The decision issued earlier specified, among other things, the need to remove all animals under the supervision of a nature specialist. It also clearly set the level of suspended solids in the discharged water at a maximum of 80 mg/l and required the works to be halted if this parameter was exceeded. According to tests commissioned by the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Wrocław, on July 1 the amount of suspended solids exceeded 10,000 mg/l, and more than 10 tonnes of dead fish were also removed."
Inspection results are expected later this week
Preliminary results of the inspection conducted by the RDOŚ are expected at the end of the week. She also noted that the office is still awaiting some documentation from the investor:
I should receive the preliminary results of the RDOŚ inspection at the end of this week; we are still waiting for some documents from the investor. We can all see that the situation in the investment area is serious. Today, the investor must take every possible action to reduce the scale of the environmental damage. Once all inspections have been completed, consequences must be drawn.
Minister: I do not supervise such investments
At the end of her statement, Paulina Hennig-Kloska also addressed the competences of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. She stressed that the ministry does not supervise this type of investment or the owners of water reservoirs.