A public hearing on the Draft Impact Study for the Bistrica B1, B2a and B3 hydroelectric power plant construction projects on the Bistrica River was held on Friday in Foča and interested citizens and representatives of local communities sent a clear message that they do not want hydroelectric power plants on their river. They pointed out that no one consulted them regarding the construction and that, based on examples from nearby places where hydropower plants already exist, it is clear that their local communities and municipalities cannot benefit in any way.
The public debate was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska, the Public Scientific Research Institution (JNU) Institute for Protection and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska, which worked on the preparation of the Impact Study, and representatives of HES Bistrica, a state-owned company that plans to build projects on the river Bistrica, representatives of the municipality of Foča, but also the widely interested public, citizens of Foča and representatives of local communities where hydroelectric power plant construction projects are planned.
After the introductory presentation by the representative of the ministry, drafts of impact studies were also presented by representatives of the Institute that conducted the studies.
At the public hearing that followed, it was determined that a series of data in the study itself was not correct and that completely new data were needed in order to determine the real impact of hydroelectric power plants on the environment. There is already one mini-hydroelectric power plant on the Bistrica river, which is not a fact stated in the study, which the authors of the study admitted.
Also, it was confirmed that there are no new data when it comes to the flow of the river, because the study refers to data from 2006. The authors of the study themselves said that new data are necessary in order to determine the biological minimum, as well as a number of other influences, to which the citizens stated that they do not want to be misled by outdated and incomplete data.
They said that they are connected to the river and that they accept only those projects related to the protection and preservation of the Bistrica river, its canyon and their settlements.
The Bistrica river is rich in fish species, and many fishermen who attended the discussion stated that after the construction of the power plant, everything they have being enjoying in during the last few decades may be lost.
It was also agreed that the Bistrica canyon is also important for the surrounding wildlife, which uses it as a migratory corridor and an area where many endangered species live, such as the brown bear, lynx, brown trout and stone crayfish, which is also a strictly protected species, and about which there is not even a word in protection studies.
At the public discussion, it was heard that there are several swimming spots on the river that the locals have been using for decades, and that they could all disappear if these projects are implemented. It was also pointed out that the citizens of Miljevina have problems with floods, and they have no guarantees that they will be protected from future ones if construction takes place.
It was also established that, in addition to the mentioned facilities that are being planned and the reservoirs that will be created, there are several protected areas and potential ones that have yet to become protected. There are the Sutjeska National Park, the Kuk Cave Natural Monument, and the Bistrica Canyon itself, which is planned for protection by the spatial plan of the RS until 2025.
