Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov made a decision that will likely provoke significant public interest. He overturned a decision by the director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) - Burgas, concerning a key project for amending the Detailed Zoning Plan for regulation and construction (DZP – DRC) in the picturesque Alepu area, near Sozopol. The project's client is "Arkutino Friends" Ltd.
The decision of the RIEW - Burgas director, made on August 8th this year, was related to the assessment of the need to conduct an environmental assessment of the project in question. According to the previous decision, it was not necessary to conduct an environmental assessment for the amendment of the plan, as no significant impact on the protected areas "Ropotamo" (for the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna) and "Ropotamo Complex" (for the conservation of wild birds) was foreseen.
However, the grounds for overturning this decision proved to be significant. In Minister Genov's reasoning, it is stated that contradictory information was found in the documentation accompanying the case file. Moreover, according to him, the facts regarding the potential impacts of the amendment of the DZP – DRC on the two zones within the scope of Natura 2000 have not been clarified.
For this reason, the case file has been returned to RIEW – Burgas. This means that the procedure will have to be repeated, which will likely lead to further investigation of the situation and reassessment of the potential environmental consequences of the planned changes. Minister Genov's decision questions the initial assessment and underlines the importance of a detailed analysis of the impacts on protected areas. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and what measures will be taken to protect the unique nature in the Sozopol area.