A number of substantial violations of the regimes stipulated by the water use permits of SHPPs on the Yeghegis River have been recorded. The violations were revealed during the recent visit of RA Environment Minister Romanos Petrosyan to Yeghegis gorge. The river is on the verge of an obvious environmental catastrophe, it is necessary to apply the strictest administration to finally regulate the sector, according to the Ministry of Environment.
The press release disseminated by the ministry says that all the violations have been recorded, a corresponding protocol will be drawn up. The purpose of the Minister's visit was to get acquainted with the issues related to small hydropower plants operating on the Yeghegis River.
After the visit, Romanos Petrosyan held a consultation with the professional subdivisions of the Ministry of Environment and instructed to study whether the SHPPs operating on the Yeghegis River are operating in accordance with the requirements of the EIA and examined design documents, in case of detecting deviations and incompliances to initiate legal proceedings, to make the requirements of the legislation on water intake, water supply and water use stricter.
By the decree of the Minister of Environment, the members of the interdepartmental group set up to study small hydropower plants on the Yeghegis River were instructed to develop and submit a draft package of necessary legislative amendments regulating the activities of SHPPs in a short period of time.
It should be mentioned that at present, 17 SHPPs of 14 licensed electricity generation companies operate on its tributaries of the Yeghegis River, with a total capacity of 42595.2 kW, an annual production of 99.255 million kWh, and a total pipeline derivation length of 36576.5 m.
These SHPPs are as follows: "Yeghegis" and "Hermon" ("Elegis HEL" LLC), "Yeghegis-1" (“Bazenk" CJSC), "Karakaya" ("HAK HEK" LLC), "Surb Aghbyur" and "Vayots" ("SURB AGHBYUR" LLC), "Sunrise" (“SUNRISE ELECTRIC”CJSC)," “
As a result of the operation of the SHPPs built on the Yeghegis River itself, the river flow is piped by 51.46%.
September 03, 2021 at 14:25