The Director of RIEW-Veliko Tarnovo requested the Expert Ecological Council to review the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report on the investment proposal “Construction of a logistics and storage site for stone fractions, of facilities for production of stone wool, of energy source for the production needs, of buildings and loading sites for the ‘Varbovka’ deposit, Varbovka village, Pavlikeni municipality” by the contracting authority Petrurgia OOD, Sofia.

The request by the director is based on art. 16, para. 2 of the Rules of Procedure on the functions, tasks, and composition of the Expert Environmental Councils with the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water, because there are special opinions deposited by two of the members of the Expert Council. The opinions point to procedural omissions, an incomplete EIA in respect to various environmental components and factors, as well as refer to the opinions by the Regional Health Inspectorate-Veliko Tarnovo, the Basin Directorate Danube Region-Pleven and Regional Historical Museum-Veliko Tarnovo, which requested to add information to the report. Additionally, during the Expert Council, the contracting authority stated that the drilling described in the EIA Report will not be included in the project, which requires further clarification.

Before scheduling the next meeting, opinions should be requested from the indicated institutions, the contracting authority should get acquainted with them and, if necessary, correct/add information to the EIA.