A majority of small hydropower plants in Armenia have for years operated with gross violations of the law, but relevant officials of the Environment Ministry have not taken any measures to redress the situation, according to prosecutors.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office has concluded that as a result, “significant damage was caused to the legitimate interests of the state.”
Based on this, the Prosecutor-General’s Office instituted a criminal case, instructing the Investigative Committee to conduct a preliminary investigation in connection with the alleged violations.
Abuse in the sector was revealed by a working group that had been set up according to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision.
Inspections revealed that no water gauging devices had been installed at 143 out of 184 small hydropower plants operating in Armenia, which constitutes a violation of the water use permit requirements. Besides, no fish protection facilities are available in the riverbeds, in some cases the volumes of environmental emissions are not maintained, and water drainage multiple times exceeds the permissible quantity, the working group said.
Acting Prime Minister Pashinian spoke about these findings in parliament on November 1. He described the sector as “a giant domain of abuses.”
“We have a situation when more water is used for a more powerful generator to generate more electricity and more income, which not only disturbs the water balance, but also results in the loss of state revenues… let alone environmental problems,” Pashinian said.