Romanian court rules against landfill on mountain top

The Cluj Court of Appeal has cancelled a decision through which Pojorata Local Council offered Suceava County Council a 9-hectare land plot for developing a landfill in the Mestecanis Pass in northern Romania. Several residents from the Pojorata village have contested the Local Council's decision to offer the land plot for the landfill, which is located on a mountain top in the picturesque region of Bucovina. However, the Suceava Court rejected their complaint in 2015. The people filed an appeal against the Suceava Court's decision, which was recently admitted by the Cluj Court of Appeal. The court’s decision is final and enforceable, reports local Gandul.info. This means that the development should be halted. The landfill was almost ready, as some 5-6 hectares of alpine pastures have been excavated to make room for the garbage storage facilities. All the waste from Suceava county’s mountain area should have been brought here. The authorities decided to build the landfill in 2009 and they even managed to get EU financing for this project. The Suceava County Council may have to pay back the money it has already received from the European Commission for this project. The Mestecanis Pass is located at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters on the national road that connects the city of Suceava with the Vatra Dornei mountain resort and Bistrita, in Transylvania. (Re)discover Romania: Bounteous Bucovina Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com