Vučković on Ecocide in Lika: Can We Carry Out Remediation?
Environment Minister Rejects Claims of Failures and Calls on Critics to Allow Her to Continue Hazardous Waste Remediation, Disputing Allegations About Its Arrival Timeline.
Environment Minister Rejects Claims of Failures and Calls on Critics to Allow Her to Continue Hazardous Waste Remediation, Disputing Allegations About Its Arrival Timeline.
Minister of Environment and Green Transition Marija Vučković responded on Saturday, August 9, 2026, regarding the remediation of hazardous waste in Lika, firmly rejecting claims that there have been failures or a lack of activity over the past year and a half. She began her statement briefly and clearly: "Incorrect."
Vučković explained that hazardous waste cannot be remediated without prior categorization and detailed analyses. She emphasized that they were not allowed to begin remediation until mid-October, for which they received written notice. "A year and a half has not been wasted. Waste cannot be remediated without categorization and analyses. We were not allowed to start remediation until mid-October, and you know we received that notice in writing," the minister wrote.
According to her, remediation began precisely with analyses and market research, and the site was under investigation. Testing was conducted in parallel with analyses, which were submitted in accordance with capabilities and permits. The first procurements for external waste, for which analyses were ready, were published three months after the initial market research and analyses.
The minister also sent a sharp message to critics, telling them that their statements are hindering the process. "You keep convincing the public that it should cost more and that we haven't secured enough money. To put it mildly, you're not helping us make the procurements succeed," Vučković emphasized.
She specifically addressed claims about when waste began arriving at the site, pointing out a discrepancy between statements made at a meeting and the official press release from the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK). "At the meeting, you said the waste had been arriving since 2019. How do you know that, if USKOK's published statement says it arrived at least from the beginning of 2022 to September 2024?" Vučković asked, highlighting the differing versions of information.
She also clarified her earlier statement about sending direct inquiries to foreign entities starting July 28. As she says, this does not exclude earlier activities, but in addition to regular market research procedures and procurement announcements, additional direct questioning of foreign entities was initiated.
The minister also addressed the issue of covering the waste. She noted that an earlier proposal from 2025 was for external waste, while the ministerial proposal from 2026 envisaged covering the area with waste using a technical system to prevent leaching. That proposal, according to her, was halted. "You stopped that," Vučković wrote.
Finally, she raised the question of where, according to the proposed solution, the hazardous waste should be disposed of. "Can you explain to the public how you envisioned this hazardous waste going 'into some container, but not on karst'? Because that's what you answered when explicitly asked. Where in Croatia should it be shipped?" she asked.
She concluded her statement with an appeal to allow the Ministry to continue the remediation. "Can you let us carry out the remediation?" Vučković said, stating that they want to clean up Gospić, the site of the former PIK Velebit, and other illegal dumpsites that they claim to have found via satellite imagery and reported to the inspection. She also emphasized their desire to conduct monitoring and restore the polluted nature. "All that beautiful nature that has been polluted by activities in which we did not participate," the minister concluded.
