The Governance of coal ash pollution in post-socialist times: power and expectations

Abstract

The coal energy sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) represents both a significant economic hope and a considerable environmental threat for the country. One of the major problems of the coal industry is the disposal of large amounts of coal combustion residues. RECOAL was an EU-supported project (2005-7) whose objective was to develop remediation solutions for coal ash disposal (CAD) sites in BiH. Most of RECOAL's environmental fieldwork was based around TEP in the municipality of Tuzla, one of the biggest thermo-electric power plants in the country. Qualitative research was carried out to understand the environmental governance structure of the area and inform and test the acceptance of different remediation solutions proposed by RECOAL. Interviews with institutional stakeholders showed a highly complex institutional structure, where government institutions and industry are involved in complicated negotiations about the distribution of the liabilities resulting from TEP's pollution. Interviews among local residents show that locally organised action could help steer the policy-making process towards more sustainable solutions.