The government, as well as the marshal of the voivodship, responded to requests for assistance in the liquidation of the landfill in Przylepa that they were temporarily unable to meet our financial needs – said the president of Zielona Góra, Janusz Kubicki, on TVN24. He was asked about the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, which ordered the removal of waste from the warehouse in 2020. The local government official added that there have been signals recently that “the Environmental Protection Fund will help us in recycling”, but “we have not been able to do it”.
Since Saturday, about 200 firefighters have been fighting a fire in a hall in Przylepa in the Lubuskie Voivodeship, where dangerous substances are stored. The Mayor of Zielona Góra, Janusz Kubicki, said in a Sunday interview with TVN24 that “the situation has been brought under control after an all-night firefighting operation”.
– At the moment, the last extinguishing is underway and we are returning to normal in a sense. As a result of air tests, it was not found that the standards that would threaten the health and life of residents were exceeded. This air was monitored both by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, as well as by the Fire Brigade and the army – he said.
Read more about extinguishing a fire in Przylepa.
Mayor of Zielona Góra: everyone knew about it
President Kubicki was asked about the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, which in March 2020 ordered the liquidation of the landfill. “The case file shows that due to the threat to human life and health and the environment, it is necessary to immediately remove waste from the warehouse area.” The court decided to “indicate the president of the city of Zielona Góra as the competent authority in this case”.
Kubicki assured that “the time will come and we will show all the documents in this regard, because it is nothing secret.” “Today there are many people who say ‘you didn’t do anything’. We asked very often, also to these people, for help in this regard, because it is a gigantic burden. (…) And the same people who say today that “we have done nothing” replied that they did not see any way to help us, Kubicki complained.
– Everyone knew about it. And the marshal of the voivodship, and the voivode, and the ministers. Everyone was informed about it. We have also recently talked with the Minister of Climate and Environment Anna) Moscow and we were assured that this year – because our application is submitted for funding – we will receive funds to start this process – he explained.
He noted that the city authorities “repeatedly informed” about the landfill. – We are not the only city in Poland where such a landfill exists. There are hundreds of these. And in fact, at some point, as local government officials, we are left alone with this problem – he noted.
The president of Zielona Góra added that “we had a physical problem at all, that the owner – because it is a private property – did not want to let us into the facility”. “He wanted us to buy the facility from him before we went to trial,” he said.
What did the state and provincial authorities answer?
When asked what the state and provincial authorities responded to the city’s requests for help in removing the landfill, Kubicki replied that “the government, just like the marshal, replied that they were temporarily unable to meet our financial needs in this area.” – In the recent period, there have already been elements indicating that the Environmental Protection Fund will help us to dispose of it. We have prepared for it. It failed to do so. We will show all these documents – he repeated.
– It’s not like we were running away from it or didn’t know about it. Everyone was aware of it. We tried to bring about a situation that would finally allow this process to be completed – said the mayor of the city in an interview with TVN24.
Main photo source: TVN24