25.06.2026.
A press conference was held today in Gospić on the premises of Lika-Senj County on the topic of illegally dumped waste at the location of agribusiness group PPK Velebit, and waste management in the area of the city of Gospić. The press event was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition Anja Bagarić, director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Luka Balen, director of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Institute, Mario Šiljeg, prefect of Lika-Senj County, Ernest Petry, and deputy county prefect Jasna Orešković Brkljačić.The participants presented the broader context and legislative framework, activities and measures for the remediation of illegally dumped waste, results of the measurements and analyses carried out, and activities related to the monitoring of air quality in the county.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition Anja Bagarić reminded that according to the Waste Management Act, the remediation of the site should be carried out by the polluter and the local self-government unit where the waste is located. "The PPK Velebit landfill is the result of illegal activities, and after USKOK informed the public about the waste in February 2025, we reacted immediately in coordination with the County. We visited the field and, in cooperation with USKOK, communicated to the public all information that was possible at that moment," she pointed out.
To protect the citizens’ health, supposing the polluter will not cover the cost of remediation, and neither did the local self-government unit take any action, the Ministry and the Fund urgently initiated all the necessary procedures so that the Croatian Government would adopt the Decision on amendments to the Waste Management Plan in May 2025, which included the location in Gospić.
"The Government immediately assumed full financial responsibility, despite the passivity of the local self-government, and the procedure is carried out by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. We regularly cooperate with USKOK, conduct expert analyses and monitor the pollution, and we respond to all interested media. We often hold meetings with local stakeholders in the field", said State Secretary Anja Bagarić.
State Secretary Anja Bagarić also showed satellite images of deforestation next to the site through a publicly available Geoportal. She pointed out that the Ministry believes the logging started in the spring of 2020.
"It is utterly unclear how this level of deforestation along the D50 state road, which has been visible on footage since 2017, has not been spotted locally. This is exactly the task of the municipal warden, which should conduct daily visits to the field and inform the public about it. The Ministry will continue to monitor the situation," Bagarić concluded.
In conclusion, she emphasised that Lika and its inhabitants have not been forgotten: the remediation process is underway, and the goal is to rectify the landfill according to the principle of legality and transparency. "We appreciate the concerns and impatience of citizens. However, we must carry out the procedure in accordance with the legal framework, respecting the public procurement procedures and the ongoing investigation. We cannot start the remediation instantly, but we are doing all we can to make it happen as soon as possible, where the Government has taken everything on itself instead of the inactive local self-government", concluded the State Secretary.
The course and procedure of remediation of the landfill site in Gospić was explained in more detail by Luka Balen, director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. He pointed out that waste had been illegally brought to the location for years, largely from abroad. It is estimated that there are about 45,000 tonnes of hazardous and non-hazardous waste at the site.
"In the Republic of Croatia, there are no capacities for the treatment of most of this waste, which is the reason why the remediation process is complex. In a procedure such as this, the treatment costs are high, where one of the estimates shows that the overall procedure could total up to 50 million euros", said Luka Balen.
The director of the Fund additionally emphasised that the procedure was carried out according to the available information from all competent authorities. He stated that experts from authorised laboratories in Croatia had been hired for additional analysis and more granular data. "We use and publicly communicate all the data we have within the framework of legal possibilities and actions of the competent authorities," Balen emphasised.
He further pointed out that significant funds have been allocated for the remediation process, and if necessary, additional financing will be provided: "We will provide everything we need to solve the problem in Gospić - although we didn’t create it - and we have taken on ourselves the responsibility and financial obligation to solve it. However, we have to work within the framework of legal procedures that affect the dynamics of the remediation process. Our goal is the same as that of the citizens of Gospić - to remediate the illegal waste that has been illegally brought to Gospić for years, and to see all those responsible in this process held accountable and punished," said the director.
Luka Balen also commented on the results of recent public tenders: "We communicate everything about public tender procedures transparently and in a timely manner. Unfortunately, no bids were received for the first tender, regardless of the fact that the bidders took samples and asked for an extension of the deadline for submission of bids. The day before yesterday, we announced a new public procurement procedure for the remediation of bulk waste next to the silo, as well as the one for the disposal of waste in big bags. We have also increased the value of the investment, and I hope that in this new procedure we will choose a contractor. At the same time, we are working on the remediation of other parts of the site," said the director of the Fund.
Finally, the director underlined that the Fund was also undertaking preparatory activities for the disposal of waste stored in facilities. Also, based on the available data, a technical solution is being developed for the temporary covering of buried waste in order to prevent possible seepage. The procurement procedure is planned to be launched during the summer. After the necessary conditions are fulfilled, the final remediation of that part of the site will begin.
The director of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute, Mario Šiljeg, said that he fully understood the concerns of citizens about improperly disposed waste, stressing that such waste must be removed and that any suspicion should be seriously examined. At the same time, he warned that in the professional sense it was necessary to distinguish the existence of a potential source of pollution from the proven impact on waters, which can only be determined by the results of monitoring and laboratory analyses.
"The Institute has been conducting state water monitoring in the area of Lika-Senj County for years. Over one year alone, about 400 water samples are processed in the county, including more than a hundred analyses of PFAS compounds. Such a system allows expert conclusions to be drawn on the basis of a large number of comparable data, rather than individual results. The results so far show that Lika-Senj County, observed in the broader context of the Republic of Croatia, does not deviate from the usual picture of the state of water, and for additional monitoring in 2025, a new measuring station Lika-Ostrvica Bridge - has been established," said director Šiljeg.
He added that the results of the Institute state monitoring, together with the official data of the Croatian Institute of Public Health on water for human consumption, currently do not indicate a threat to the public water supply in the area of Gospić and Otočac. "If any new indicator of potential risk appears, the Institute will determine it through a monitoring system and inform the competent authorities and the public in a timely manner. Our task is to provide citizens with professional, verified and measurement-based information, because trust in institutions is built by facts, not assumptions," concluded director Šiljeg.
Deputy prefect of Lika-Senj County Jasna Orešković Brkljačić stated that through the financial resources of the County and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, an air quality measuring station was set up in cooperation with the Teaching Institute of Public Health of Split-Dalmatia County. Indicative measurements throughout the year indicate that no deviations from the limit values have been recorded.
"The measuring station in the immediate vicinity of PPK Velebit shows that the concentrations of harmful particles in the air are continuously low and below the prescribed values. This confirms that the air in Gospić is clean," deputy prefect concluded.
The conference was concluded by the prefect of Lika-Senj County, Ernest Petry, pointing out that the County had been involved in solving the problem of illegally dumped waste from the beginning, at the same avoiding presenting unverified information.
"While individuals are trying to score political points, our focus is on solving problems responsibly and lawfully. As a prefect, together with my associates, I work every day to protect the interests of Lika and its citizens, whether it’s waste remediation or numerous development projects across the county. I would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Croatia for its support and financial engagement that will enable the remediation of this and other locations in Lika-Senj County," Petry concluded.
