A huge quarry for construction materials is about to appear near the Struma highway, near the Studena dam, BNT reported.
The environmental impact assessment report for the investment proposal has already been prepared and the assessment is positive. The investor is the company that already exploits the quarry, but they want to increase their concession area by 140 decares and by 35 years. The residents of nearby villages are against the expansion, but no one pays attention to their objections.
The quarry is 30 minutes from Sofia, literally on the Struma highway and less than a kilometer from the Vitosha protected area. The village of Bosnek, which has over 600 houses, is on the other side of the road. Its residents have been complaining for years about the constant explosions from the Bilo quarry, but there has been no reaction.
According to the residents of the three villages of Bosnek, Studena and Staro Selo, the expansion of the quarry will have disastrous consequences for the environment in the entire region.
According to them, it threatens the Studena dam, animal species, the safety of the Struma Motorway, as well as air quality. They are also afraid for water sources. In addition to the Struma River, the village also has many karst springs.
The mayor of Pernik did not want to comment on the topic because it was not within his competence, he referred us to the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Sofia. They sent a written response from there. It is clear that the environmental impact assessment report is positive. However, according to people, it has many gaps.
The Ministry of Energy explained that they are waiting for a valid EIA decision to be presented to them, which would approve the investment proposal for the extraction of underground resources. The company "INMAT" also did not find time for an interview. They wrote us a letter saying that the investment proposal has been approved, and that we should look for the answers to all our questions in the report. The residents have submitted objections, signed by over 150 people, and will appeal the decision of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and Water.