Timelapse shows dramatic deforestation and terrain stripping around the former silos in Gospić, where 37,000 tons of waste with high concentrations of heavy metals and PFAS compounds were found.
Satellite timelapse imagery of the area around the former PPK Velebit in Gospić reveals how dramatically the environment has changed over the past few years. The images from ESRI World Imagery Wayback, covering the period from 2017 to May 2026, clearly show how the former greenery gradually disappeared, leaving behind increasingly larger bare and earthen surfaces.
This is the location at Bilajska 50, also known as the site near the silos, where recent expert analysis has shown high concentrations of heavy metals in the waste and soil, as well as the presence of PFAS compounds, known as "forever chemicals," in groundwater downstream of the illegal landfill. According to the findings of the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, approximately 37,000 tons of waste are located at this site.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition estimated, by analyzing orthophoto and satellite images, that the large-scale clearing of the area around the former silos began around the spring of 2020. Relying on information from USKOK, the Ministry reported that illegal waste disposal began in early 2022 and continued until September 2024.
Additionally, the Ministry publicly questioned why such extensive land clearing along the D50 state road, on the way to Rakitovac, was not noticed on the ground. The newer satellite photos clearly show the size of the area from which vegetation has been removed, with a light, earthen surface stretching around the silos.
A significant portion of the material at this location is buried and covered with soil and sand, so clear piles of waste cannot be discerned from a bird's-eye view. Residential buildings are located right next to the road beside this area, which further heightens concern in the images.
Another image shows Rakitovac, the municipal waste landfill in Gospić, where municipal and non-hazardous industrial waste has been disposed of since 1992. At this site, a gradual transformation of the terrain is also noticeable over the years - the shape of a large bare area surrounded by forest changes, with earthen surfaces and access roads appearing and expanding.
Residents have previously claimed that hazardous material is being buried there. At the end of June, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced that an analysis of the Geoportal had identified another "potentially polluted point" adjacent to the Rakitovac municipal landfill, extending across cadastral parcels 648/78 and 648/14, and announced an urgent inspection of all suspicious locations. The findings of that inspection are still not available to the public.
According to official data, Rakitovac is located approximately 3.5 kilometers southeast of Gospić, with the nearest houses about a kilometer away and the Lika River about 700 meters away. The former PPK Velebit and the Rakitovac landfill are about a kilometer and a half apart as the crow flies, both located southeast of Gospić's center, in the same general direction along the D50 state road.
According to results published so far, water from the public water supply is safe to drink. Due to public concern, the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) also conducted extraordinary sampling at the Mrđenovac spring and at residents' homes in Gospić, but the results of these analyses have not yet been published.
At the same time, the county Institute of Public Health of Lika-Senj County issued a warning to residents of Gospić, Otočac, Senj, and the municipalities of Perušić and Karlobag who use their own wells, cisterns, and other local sources that are not part of the public water supply network to contact the Institute. This warning does not apply to the public water supply, which the Institute states has been verified and is safe to drink.
Since March of this year, a measuring station has been installed on the Lika River at the Ostrvica bridge, about a kilometer downstream from Rakitovac. In June, the Ministry announced that analyses conducted up to that point at the monitored stations indicated chemical and ecological water status that meets the prescribed standards for achieving good status.
Remediation of the former PPK Velebit site has not yet begun. A public tender is currently being conducted by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund for the initial stages of waste disposal. Two procedures are underway: one for the removal and disposal of approximately 4,500 tons of bulk waste with hazardous properties near the silo, and another for approximately 650 tons of waste in "big bag" bags, characterized as non-hazardous. For both tenders, the deadline for bid submission is August 25.
The special and technically most demanding part of the remediation concerns approximately 33,000 tons of waste that is buried and mixed with soil. Given that Croatia has no hazardous waste landfill or thermal treatment facility, the Fund is considering disposal options abroad. According to Ministry information, inquiries were first sent to 15 foreign operators, and then to approximately 60 more hazardous waste landfill and energy plant operators within the European Union. Furthermore, four inquiries were sent regarding the possibility of permanent disposal in abandoned, closed salt mines.
For the buried waste, a final solution has not yet been selected. The Fund is gathering information on disposal options and costs while simultaneously preparing the procurement procedure. Balen announced that in September, he will present the available options and remediation timelines to the citizens' initiative "Gospić is Our Home."
