The Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Waters - Plovdiv (RIEW - Plovdiv) again carried out an inspection in the area of the village of Rogosh, in response to pollution of the Maritsa River, detected over the weekend. As a result of the incident, significant quantities of dead fish were found, mainly bottom-dwelling species such as sculpin and bream. The aim of the inspection was to collect additional information to help establish the causes and possible culprit of the pollution, the press center of the RIEW reports.
The inspection was carried out jointly with representatives of the Fishing Association “Olympic – 2002“ and the mayor of the village of Rogosh. Despite the difficult access, three key areas where the dead fish were initially found were visited. In some places, single decomposed specimens are still visible.
There are no production plants in the area that could be a source of point pollution. The land is mainly agricultural and is used for growing vineyards and vegetables. As part of the inspection, farm and storage buildings were inspected. The reason for this was the suspicions expressed by fishermen that there may be an unregulated discharge of plant protection product residues into the river. In the yard of one of the buildings, full and empty tubes of products were noticed stored, and near another, a dirt road with clearly visible tire tracks from agricultural machinery was found, leading directly to the river.
The focus of the inspection was to establish the possible presence of pipes for unregulated discharge of wastewater, but no such were found. The inspectors also found many drillings in the agricultural fields. RIEW has already requested the Basin Directorate “East Aegean Region“ to conduct an inspection regarding the legality of these water abstractions and whether there are permits issued under the Water Act.
During the inspection, unregulated accumulations of waste were also identified, for the cleaning of which RIEW – Plovdiv has already issued a written order to the mayor of Maritsa Municipality. He has also been requested to clarify the legal status of the buildings in the affected area.
In addition, the eco-inspection has sent an official letter to the Regional Directorate for Food Safety with a request for control actions, including field inspections regarding the storage and use of plant protection products (PPP), keeping treatment logs, and the presence of unregistered or prohibited products in accordance with the Plant Protection Act.
RIEW – Plovdiv has also notified the head of the "Crimes against the Environment and Wildlife" sector at the "National Police" General Directorate. All collected data, photographs, monitoring results and documents will be provided to the specialized bodies in order to identify the cause of the pollution.
The Inspectorate expresses its gratitude to the fishermen from the "Olympic - 2002" Association and the mayor of the village of Rogosh for their active cooperation and responsible attitude to the case. Their excellent knowledge of the area significantly facilitated the conduct of the extraordinary control inspection.