Fines up to 1.5 million lek to hotels that did not install the plants; The lawsuit for the instruction is reviewed today

In the Court of Administrative Appeals, a hearing is held today to review the lawsuit for the annulment of the instruction that determines the placement of plants for the treatment of polluted water near hotels in coastal, lake and river areas.

The review of the lawsuit by the Administrative Appeal was scheduled to be held on September 11, 2024, but was postponed in order to reformat the panel.

The lawsuit for the repeal of the instruction "For the approval of the technical regulation on the standards for the treatment of polluted water for entities that discharge polluted and untreated water near or in washing waters" has been filed in the Administrative Appeal by the Aulona Regional Tourism Association (ARTA), the ATA tourism association and the Albanian Tourist Union.

In the lawsuit from the 3 associations, the repeal of Article 6 of the instruction is requested, which states that "Subjects that carry out existing activities, are in the process of construction or have applied for a construction permit, based on the existing capacity and technical solutions or that are planned to be implemented , connected or not to the public sewerage network, must install wastewater treatment plants according to the definitions of the categories expressed in Article 2 of Normative Act No. 8, dated 28.12.2023".

That's right, the task force of the National Water and Sewerage Agency, after awareness-raising initiatives during the summer months, has also initiated administrative fines against businesses.

For almost 2 weeks, a number of accommodation structures in the city of Pogradec have raised the concern that they have been fined up to 1,500,000 ALL for the lack of installation of these facilities. The fined entities claim that the request is not only arbitrary, since they pay the obligation for the removal of polluted water, but it burdens them with high costs.

In this area, the waters of the accommodation structures are treated by their treatment plant, which has been operating since 2009, with funding from Kfw.

Businesses are forced to invest in these plants in significant amounts, reaching up to 100 thousand euros.

In addition, businesses are also having difficulties in finding free surfaces where the plants can be installed, as they are in large volumes and must be dug underground. Businesses that do not have the necessary surface area for the installation of these plants have been asked to place them on the promenade, risking environmental pollution.

Also, at the peak of the tourist season, hotels in the tourist areas of the south and Durrës have been asked again by the National Water and Sewerage Agency (AKUK) through an obligation notice to install wastewater treatment plants.

The sending of notices to tourist operators came after the campaign undertaken to place identification signs with a red circle in front of businesses that have not installed plants that cost up to 100,000 euros.

Concern has been raised several times by businesses, even at the start of the tourist season, that the installation of the required plants, which costs between 40, 80 and 100 thousand euros, is unaffordable.

The President of the Bars and Restaurants Association, Mr. Enri Jahja, claims that this practice is arbitrary, as businesses are being asked to be paid twice for the same service, when they have a contract with the water supply and sewage system for the treatment of polluted water.

Jahja also says that the instruction is contrary to Normative Act no. 8 dated 28.12.2023 "For taking urgent measures, for the protection and improvement of the infrastructure, for the treatment of polluted waters that are discharged near or in washing waters".

Article 3 of the Normative Act determines that the entities that must implement this provision are those near coastal waters, lake shores or rivers that discharge untreated polluted waters, near or in washing waters. Meanwhile, the installation of pu plants is required for all businesses.

The joint directive of the Ministries of Infrastructure and Energy and Tourism and Environment entered into force on February 2, 2024, after the publication in the Official Gazette on January 5, 2024 of the Normative Act "On taking urgent measures, for the protection and improvement of infrastructure, for dealing with polluted waters that are discharged near or in washing waters".

The instruction defines the technical standards that must be followed by entities near coastal, lake and river areas, for the replacement of septic tanks with the installation of modern plants for the treatment of polluted water.

According to the joint instruction, businesses were given a deadline until the end of March to install the specified equipment or systems or, on the contrary, as defined in the Normative Act, if the Task Force, after carrying out the monitoring and inspection, when it finds that the plant or system is not installed individual in accordance with the technical rules for the treatment of polluted water, businesses will be punished with fines ranging from 1,500,000 ALL to 2,650,000 ALL.

We remind you that the lawsuit for the repeal of Article 6 of the instruction was dismissed at the first instance of the Administrative Court./ Monitor