Environment Ministry Violated RA Government's Decision by Granting a Permit to "Lorva Amrots" LLC

Environment Ministry Violated RA Government's Decision by Granting a Permit to "Lorva Amrots" LLC

On July 13, Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) decided to issue an electricity production license to "Lorva Amrots" LLC. The license was granted for the production of electricity at 26.7 MW "Loriberd 2" SHPP on Dzoraget in the administrative area of in Kurtan and Agarak settlements ​​of Gyulagarak and Loriberd communities, Lori Region. The production license period is until July 14, 2040, the construction period of the SHPP is until July 14, 2025.

One of the bases for the decision of Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia is the decision reached by RA Administrative Court in court case NVD/3449/05/22 in favor of "Lorva Amrots" LLC, by which the court obliged PSRC to provide license for the production of electricity of "Loribird-2" to "Lorva Amrots" LLC.

In its claim, the company stated that it currently has a valid water use permit, the term of which expires on 30.07.2022, therefore, if the plaintiff does not manage to get a license, then according to the law, the water use permit will be considered null and void and will lead to the emergence of new obstacles. "Even if it is possible to issue a new water use permit from a legal point of view, due to objective changes in nature, the competent state body may be deprived of the opportunity to issue a permit providing for the same amount of water use, which will directly make it impossible to obtain a license for the construction of a hydropower plant with the legally expected capacity, because the hydropower plant the capacity is directly related to the quantity of water provided by the permit," the company stated in the lawsuit.

Environment Ministry has issued two water use permits (WP) to "Lorva Amrots" LLC for the purpose of construction on July 30, 2021, which expire on July 30, 2022.

Thus, Environment Ministry has violated the regulations developed by it and adopted by RA Government resolution 488-Ն on April 8, 2021 “ON DETERMINING LIST OF RIVERS SERVING AS SPAWNING SITES FOR RED-LISTED OR ENDEMIC FISH SPECIES OR OVERLOADED WITH DERIVATION PIPELINES BY 40 PERCENT AND OVER WHEN APPLICATIONS FOR WATER USE PERMITS FOR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS MUST BE REJECTED”, under which any water usage permit application for the construction of any new small hydropower plant on Dzoraget shall be rejected.

This violation was followed by other resolutions, as a result of which RA Government's resolution 488-N dated on April 8, 2021 was violated.

Read also:

https://www.ecolur.org/en/news/water/13583/?fbclid=IwAR0VRBoQyqhzPSiMWH_lmgkozEnSS9KrtWg517yGEU9G6lKJmrFyB66LoVQ

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July 14, 2022 at 15:45