Anglers and environmentalists from all over the country blocked off traffic for about an hour along the Sofia-Rousse main road. No vehicle queues or traffic jams were formed.  

They are protesting in Rumyantsevo village near Lukovit, against the draining of rivers by small hydroelectric power plants and against the construction of Rumyantsevo 2 hydroelectric power station. The protesters are carrying posters, one of which reads: “We want our rivers and our nature. No more hydroelectric power plants.”

The organizers of the protest – the associations Balkanka and Old Otters – say thatthe construction of Rumyantsevo 2 is illegal. The section of Zlatna Panega River falls within a protected area under Natura 2000. There are many species there which are under the protection of the law, but which will vanish from the river section drained by the hydroelectric power station. Its construction is inadmissible under the Danube River Basin Management Plan 2021.  The protestors are demanding that the National Construction Control Directorate conduct an inspection of the construction documents as well as the immediate stop to the plant’s construction.  

Dimitar Kumanov, member of the management council of the Balkanka association says:

“We are protesting against the illegal construction permit, issued for Rumyantsevo 2 hydroelectric power station which will inflict damages on one of the most valuable sections of Zlatna Panega River and its unique biodiversity. We demand that the National Construction Control Directorate launch an inspection of the construction authorization documents for this hydroelectric power plant. There are several violations – the weir on the river is public state property and they have no established right to use the weir and to reconstruct it – its reconstruction means building, as stipulated by the law. They do not have authorization to use a surface water construction project, which is obligatory for the issue of the above-mentioned construction permit. The court itself ruled: “This is an illegal hydroelectric power plant.”