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“After inspection, it was established that during 2014–2018 Vilniaus Vandenys released phthalate contaminants from sewage treatment plants with domestic and industrial sewage without a permit. For undeclared contamination released without a permit issued in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts, the company for 2014-2018. the tax was calculated at a higher rate for the tax periods, in total – 7,561,902 euros, ”states the environmentalists’ report.
Vilniaus Vandenys is a municipal company. It is administered by the city of Vilnius and the municipalities of the Šalčininkai, Švenčionys and Vilnius district.
Olga Vėbrienė, acting director of the Department of Environmental Protection, stated that in 2014 the Ministry of the Environment amended the Wastewater Management Regulation, which establishes that phthalates have been identified as priority hazardous substances, the discharge of which must be stopped by 2033 .
Julius Kalinskas / 15min photo / Department of Environmental Protection
“Therefore, as of 2014, the discharge of wastewater containing priority hazardous substances into the natural environment (regardless of the amount of priority hazardous substances discharged) is only permitted with a permit, which sets the requirements for the discharge of these substances. In general, water management companies that have identified priority hazardous substances in their wastewater have had to change their pollution permit or the integrated pollution prevention and control permit in accordance with the requirements of the Wastewater Management Regulation. and add these substances to the permits and not exceed the established maximum concentration. “O. Vėbrienė.
The head of environmental protection stated that Vilniaus Vandenys, who has a departmental laboratory, must conduct research, monitor and observe laboratory data, but has not taken any action for more than six years to include phthalates in the prevention control permit for pollution.
“In accordance with the conditions of discharge of pollutants from the wastewater treatment plant to the environment and the control of subscribers who discharge their wastewater into the centralized wastewater collection system, the principle that the direct pollutant pays contamination would go into effect. Therefore, by monitoring subscribers discharging industrial wastewater into the wastewater collection system, in accordance with contractual obligations, these subscribers must compensate “Vilniaus vandenys” for unanticipated contaminants in the agreement or that exceed the maximum permitted concentrations, “said O.Vėbrienė.
Vilniaus Vandenys intends to challenge the fine in court
Marius Švaikauskas, the head of Vilniaus Vandenai 15 minutes He has previously stated that he disagrees categorically with the taxes collected by environmentalists and intends to challenge them in court.
As environmentalists claim that phthalate contamination was not declared, the amount of the fine is 50 times greater than normal fines. However, the Vilniaus Vandenai chief stated that the company did not hide the contamination.
Sigismund Gedvila photo / 15min / Marius Švaikauskas
“These authorities never evaluated these contaminants, even though they had data. And that data that we provide to them every year, the monitoring program recorded for us to track and provide that data.
Before the inspections, both the Ministry of the Environment and all the subordinate bodies took the position that the sewage plants could not clean the phthalates, so there is no need to prohibit discharges. And it is never required to include this contaminant in the contamination permit. And we even have a letter that says to Kėdainiai: no need to throw [į taršos leidimą] of this pollutant in 2018. That is what we have to pay, if our permit does not have it, do we not have to get involved? And he says you hid that pollutant, and we multiplied it by 50. Although we provided the agency with that data and the agency itself was still investigating. We are now built with an unenviable reputation. I’m not even talking about financial damages, we will really win in court, “said M. Švaikauskas.
In a statement to the media on Monday, the Vilniaus Vandenys company stated that it strongly disagreed with these allegations and, after receiving an unfavorable final decision from environmentalists, was preparing to appeal it to court.
The company sees environmentalists’ intentions to impose a retroactive tax burden several times higher than usual as unreasonable and perceived only as a desire to make a profit at the expense of water managers.
“As we have repeatedly said, the accusations against the company for not declaring or hiding pollution taxes are absurd. We see them only as the inability of the institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Environmental Protection to constructively solve the problems the country’s environmental concerns by shifting the burden of responsibility to water management companies, “Marius Švaikauskas, CEO of Vilniaus Vandenai, cites in the report. According to him, the environmentalists’ decision on the results of the tax inspection will be appealed to the court and there is no doubt that the company will be able to easily prove its innocence and avoid the tax burden.
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