The local councils of Puhaceni and Serpeni, together with the Anenii Noi district council, are asking the Ministry of Environment to review the decision regarding the location of the planned regional waste management center near the two villages. The local authorities argue that the decision was made without a real consultation of the communities and before the necessary evaluations were completed. However, the Ministry states that the environmental impact assessment procedure is ongoing, and studies and consultations will take place before a decision is made, reports IPN.

The mayor of Puhaceni village, Veaceslav Plamadeala, maintains that the regional center is expected to serve over 1.1 million residents from Chisinau municipality and the districts of Anenii Noi, Criuleni, Dubasari, Hancesti, Ialoveni, Straseni, and Orhei.

The local councils of Puhaceni and Serpeni, as well as the Anenii Noi district council, request the cessation of the procedure and the reassessment of the location. Their representatives claim that the residents of the area were not consulted before the land was selected, and the expropriation procedures would have been initiated before the completion of the environmental impact assessment.

Representatives of the Ministry of Environment clarified for IPN that the land designated for the construction of the center is state property, under the administration of the Public Property Agency, and does not belong to any municipality.

At the same time, local authorities maintain that the chosen site is located near water sources and settlements, and that so far, no hydrogeological study has been conducted to assess potential effects on groundwater.

In response, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Environment, Grigore Stratulat, stated that the project does not involve the establishment of a landfill, but the construction of a modern regional waste management center, which will comply with the European Union standards for environmental protection. “Currently, the environmental impact assessment procedure is underway, and all the studies and public consultations required by law will be carried out before any decision is made,” the official clarified.

According to Grigore Stratulat, preliminary investigations indicate the existence of adequate protective distances from inhabited areas and main bodies of water. At the same time, access to the future center is designed so that traffic does not cross nearby localities.

The representatives of the Ministry of Environment encourage local authorities and residents to participate in public consultations and to analyze the project based on the conclusions of specialty studies, which will be made public after the completion of the environmental impact assessment.