Environment Ministry Redlights Incinerator near Spa Town of Dudince

Bratislava, 13 March (TASR) - The Environment Ministry has issued a decision in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, in which it doesn't approve the plan to build an energy centre in the village of Hontianske Tesare near the spa town of Dudince (both Banska Bystrica region) for the recovery of 130,000 tonnes of waste per year, the ministry's communications department told TASR on Friday, noting that this is a first-instance decision that hasn't yet become final. Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) stated that Slovakia desperately needs modern facilities that convert waste into energy, however, these don't belong near spa towns with sources of healing thermal waters, nor in areas where there is insufficient waste or appropriate infrastructure. "As of today, the EIA process for the incinerator near Dudince has been completed with a negative result," noted Taraba, adding that there will be no incinerator near Dudince. Taraba also added that without modern waste-to-energy facilities, we in Slovakia can't eliminate environmental burdens, nor can we close landfills that are contaminating groundwater. However, sites for incinerators should be located in industrial zones or former chemical plants, where they will have both economic and environmental significance. "In the case of the incinerator near Dudince [Krupina district], it makes no rational sense to build an incinerator with a capacity of 130,000 tonnes of waste per year when the entire Krupina district produces only two percent of that capacity," he noted. am