Environment Minister Accuses Romania's Water Authority of Political Control and Ignoring Illegal Mining

Romania's National Administration “Apele Române” became a vulnerable system run under political direction, Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu said, accusing officials of ignoring illegal operations that caused losses of tens of millions of lei.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Buzoianu presented findings from an inspection report covering the Olt river basin. She said unauthorized excavation across roughly 75 hectares had created an artificial lake. The work allegedly took place without permits.

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ANAR has become a vulnerable system, run for too long under political direction, with little accountability from those who turn a blind eye to illegal activities causing losses of tens of millions of lei for Romania.

Buzoianu said no inspection had been carried out at Mineralport for 15 years, despite the company's activity in the area. She said the company had illegally extracted more than five million cubic meters of aggregates, causing losses of more than 10 million lei for Romania from the aggregate extraction alone. The minister said the losses linked to water had not yet been included in that figure.

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This is a lake created in violation of every law, without any authorization.

“S-a ajuns în punctul în care nu au făcut din 2011 până în 2026 nici măcar un control”, a spus Buzoianu despre Mineralport. In English, she said the authorities had reached the point where they carried out not even one inspection from 2011 to 2026. She also said Pond Star had gone without checks for 11 years, from 2010 to 2021, while extracting materials across dozens of hectares.

The inspection report recommends disciplinary action against people in the system. ANAR management proposed replacing the director of the Olt Water Basin Administration. Buzoianu said the director-general's mandate expires on Sept. 2, but an internal legal opinion argued that it should be extended. She questioned why an official accused of completely ignoring the illegalities would be the person whose mandate could be renewed.

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There was not even one inspection from 2011 to 2026.