Epress.am News from Armenia
A new analysis of the socio-environmental impact of 25 small hydropower plants on 47 rivers in Armenia shows that the projects don't comply with the laws of the country, said environmentalist Victoria Burnazyan at a press conference on Wednesday.
The other problems identified from the operation of the small hydropower plants include the following: the load on 28 of the 47 rivers studied is in the normal range; 16 of the 47 are in crisis; and 3 are in a catastrophic situation; public hearings are merely a formality; the opinions of residents are not taking into account when making decisions; and public hearings are held in violation of the RA Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and provisions of the Aarhus Convention.
The Environmental Assessment ("Nature Protection Expertise") state non-commercial organization of the RA Ministry of Nature Protection is not transparent in its work: it refused to provide the minutes of the public hearings, opinions, or conclusions of the environmental impact assessments.
Considering the violations, the researcher made a few suggestions: in particular, not to allow the environmental flow to exceed 50%, to protect the river; and the power of the small hydropower plants should exceed 10 MW. The report notes that in some cases, the small hydropower plants have been placed in prohibited areas such as specially protected areas, forested areas, and landslide-prone zones, which should be excluded.