Gov't does not deem environmental report necessary for sea-filling project in Rize, known for landslides

Duvar English

The Environment and Urbanization Ministry ruled that an environmental impact assessment was not necessary for a ground-filling project in the Black Sea province of Rize, even though multiple factors decrease the landscape's stability, daily Birgün reported on August 25.

A project that plans to fill in 23 hectares of the Black Sea to create a recreational area was found to not require an environmental impact assessment, even though the region often observes floods and landslides due to high amounts of rainfall.

Governed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Rize Municipality estimates that the "People's Garden" project will cost 8.6 million liras ($1.16 million) and will take up 124,500 square-meters of the Black Sea with concrete.

The area designated to the project contains multiple streams that flow into the sea, as a result of which the project may present a flood risk, a geological study report for the "people's garden" noted.

"Also, the shoreline along the coast is constantly exposed to salt water and waves," the report added.

Ground-filling for "shoreline protection"

Meanwhile, the municipality initiated environmental impact assessments for two other ground-filling projects that will take up thousands of square-meters and cost the municipality millions.

One of these projects is dubbed a "a shoreline protection construction."

Some 287,000 cubic-meters of of filling are planned for the project, for which the material will be bought only from "permitted" suppliers, a description to the "land protection project" noted.

"The area where the fill-in will connect to land is considered a medium-level risk area for earthquakes," said an official plan for the project that's budgeted for 950,000 liras ($128,000) by the municipality.