The sand and gravel extracted during works to set up or maintain navigable ways will be put back into rivers upstream from the extraction place. A relevant amendment to the Law on Areas and Strips for the Protection of Rivers and Lakes was approved by the Government. The amendment is a legislative initiative of MP Violeta Ivanov, former Minister of the Environment, IPN reports.

Current Minister of the Environment Gheorghe Salaru considers that this amendment is opportune given that the sand and gravel perform vital functions in rivers, including the self-cleaning one. Some of the economic entities extract sand and gravel from rivers for sale, invoking that they lay out navigable ways, even in areas that haven’t been crossed by a ship for decades.

Ecologist Alecu Renita, who is a member of the National Participation Council, told a news conference earlier that the irresponsible method of extracting sand and gravel from the beds of the Nistru and Prut must be immediately interrupted. “The obligation to fully return the extracted sand and gravel into rivers will bring the reckless interventions to an end,” he stated.