Vučković to Opposition: They Know They Are Not Telling the Truth

While MOST calls for the government's dismissal, Environment and Green Transition Minister Marija Vučković joined live from Ploče on Wednesday to respond to accusations of a failed hazardous waste oversight system. She sharply criticized opposition MPs, saying they are deliberately spreading falsehoods about who issued permits for the disputed sites.

"They know when they say it that they are not telling the truth; they claim we issued the permit, and they repeat it. And that enters people's ears, but it is a complete lie," Vučković stated. She emphasized that the waste mentioned in the affair had not gone through any notifications from her ministry nor had it been reported.

Permits Issued by Counties, Not the Ministry

The minister clarified that the discussion today is not only about Gospić but about several locations across Croatia, including Samobor, Pazin, Benkovac, Poznanovac, and Bedekovčina. "We are talking about landfills that are the result of illegal actions. They are in Gospić, Samobor, Pazin, Benkovac, Poznanovac, and Bedekovčina," she said.

She attributed key responsibility for issuing permits to county administrations, not the relevant ministry. "In all those cases where a permit existed, it was a county permit. At one location, it was issued four times," Vučković said.

Communal Inspection and State Inspectorate

Asked about oversight, the minister reminded that communal inspection is obliged to patrol the field, notice and fence off illegal sites, and report them. She added that the State Inspectorate acted in this case and that amendments to the law pay more attention to the supervisory side. The ministry, she added, also has an electronic reporting system.

The ministry, as she stated, took over the remediation because the polluter who should pay apparently cannot do it on time. "We have registered a lien, prepared the first procurements, and had one already; now we have a second, and we are preparing procurement for buried waste," she said.

Remediation Deadline: At Least 12 Months

Asked directly about the remediation deadline, Vučković said that no model she has seen envisages less than 12 months. "I haven't seen a single model that talks about less than 12 months. Most often they talk about much more time," she said.

For the external part of the waste, the legal deadline is one year. "As for the external part of the waste, it is a legal deadline of one year," she explained. For the buried waste, she stressed that the deadline will be one of the key criteria in the procurement process, but analytical reports and expert assessments conducted as part of the USKOK procedure must first be completed.

The minister also mentioned that the SDP, in its statement, admitted that it is difficult to expect urgent remediation of heterogeneous waste, adding that the ministry will do its best to make the process as fast as possible.

The chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Dušica Radojčić, demanded urgent answers about the extent of possible pollution and remediation plans. She said that residents have the right to know the truth and that pollution in Gospić requires swift and coordinated action by competent institutions. Radojčić proposed holding a public hearing on August 18 in Gospić to establish the responsibility of all those involved in the oversight system. According to her, the analysis and expert opinion prepared as part of the USKOK investigation warned of severe contamination of soil, water, and air, and the landfill is not protected by an appropriate liner, while wind carries particles into the environment. Radojčić asserted that political responsibility for the dysfunctional and corrupt oversight system lies with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and that the public hearing must allow direct questions to representatives of all institutions responsible for controlling the landfill, environmental protection, and public health.