"Construction permit denied for Banovići coal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina", 15 December 2017

The Federal Ministry for Spatial Planning in Bosnia-Herzegovina has denied RMU Banovići a construction permit for its planned Banovići 350 MW lignite power plant. Key issues such as water supply, coal supply, wastewater, flue gases and ash disposal have not been resolved, leading the Ministry to conclude that the project is not in line with the spatial plan for Tuzla Canton. The issues had already been raised repeatedly by non-governmental organisations Ekotim and Center for Ecology and Energy Tuzla during the environmental impact assessment procedure, but in January 2016 the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism issued an environmental permit regardless. For this reason Ekotim initiated a court case in April 2016, which is still pending. The Spatial Planning Ministry’s decision shows that the Banovići project, in addition to its climate and health impacts, is plagued by a series of problems that should have been acknowledged years ago.