EC urges Romania to protect river Arges from small hydropower plants

The European Commission (EC) has sent an additional letter of formal notice to Romania the 16^th of November for authorising and constructing small hydropower plants in the river Arges. The recently adopted 3rd River Basin Management Plan shows the deterioration of the river. Romania now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the (EC) may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

According to the European Commission Romania failed to comply with the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive when authorising and constructing the hydropower plants. Both directives focus on ensuring the quality and quantity of water bodies, preventing and tackling pollution and protecting fauna and flora. In 2015, the European Commission made agreements with Romania concerning the authorisation and construction of small hydropower plants projects in alpine watercourses, affecting three Natura 2000 sites and the water bodies involved.

Commitments

The Romanian authorities have partially delivered on the commitments made in 2015. Until now the Member State failed to amend permits and implement the measures identified to address deterioration in one of the water bodies identified before. In addition, the evidence available from the studies and monitoring carried out confirm that some Micro Hydro Power Plants were authorised without any appropriate assessment required by the Habitats Directive. ‘Considering the deterioration, it is necessary to remediate the situation as soon as possible’, states the  European Commission in their latest infringement decision.

Monitoring

In 2015 the Romanian authorities have undertaken several commitments, such as the monitoring of the projects covered by the infringement procedure. They also adopted a legal framework on the ecological flow and no-go areas. They also made an amendment of permits and transposition of the revised Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, with a coordinated procedure for assessment of projects under the Water Framework Directive.

Effects of hydropower

The river Arges in Southern Romania is a left tributary of the Danube.  Some of its tributaries are used for hydro energy. The hydroelectrical system consists of several dams, lakes, tunnels and power plants. The lakes built on the Argeș River are Vidraru, Oiești, Cerbureni, Curtea de Argeș, Zigoneni, Merișani, Budeasa, Bascov, Pitești, Călinești, Zăvoiu, Ogrezeni and Mihăilești. The dams can cause changes such as interruptions of sediment transport, changes in hydraulic and hydrological characteristics (reduced water flow), loss of areas flooding or drying of wetlands, as well as the direct damage to the biota and disruption of biological continuity. The impact of these changes and the subsequent effects lead to the disappearance of aquatic communities. Hydropower is more European countries a threat for water quality in rivers, like in Albania.