Meeting at the Committee of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources

shexvedra_komitetshi On April 5, a working meeting on the condition of atmospheric air in Rustavi was held at the Committee of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources in the Parliament.

The meeting was attended by the majoritarian MP of Rustavi, representatives of Rustavi Municipality City Hall and the Assembly, the Committee of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the Environmental Supervision Department, the National Environmental Agency from the government sector; and from the civil sector – us, the Civil Movement “Gavigudet”.

At the meeting, the Mayor of Rustavi Nino Latsabidze summarized the measures implemented by the municipality to improve air quality and presented a report on the work done according to the Air Quality Management Plan.

The Chief Inspector of the Environmental Supervision Department presented a report on inspections carried out in 2023, fines issued for violations of air quality standards. This report also revealed that 32 enterprises with self-monitoring obligations, 15 of which are in Rustavi, are registered in the ministry’s system across Georgia.

The Head of the Air Monitoring Department of the National Environmental Agency presented a report on the state of the air quality monitoring network across Georgia. She also spoke about future plans and noted that by the end of 2025, the installation of 27 automatic background stations is planned across Georgia, including an industrial station near Tazakendi. Additionally, the creation of an air quality mobile app is planned, the introduction of an air quality forecasting system from 2027, and the renewal of the air quality portal to include information from the new background stations.

After the parties presented their reports, a discussion took place. In this part, we had the opportunity to clarify certain issues, re-emphasize existing challenges, and listen to the position of representatives from the public sector.

Here are the questions/issues we raised at the meeting and the responses received:

– First, we offered cooperation with the Rustavi City Hall regarding the plan to restore the Floodplain Forest of Rustavi and expressed our readiness to provide seedlings (of the species envisaged in the restoration plan) acquired with the help of donors, if possible, to the Rustavi City Hall for planting in the Floodplain We were interested in the City Hall’s position on this and the person we could contact.

As the Mayor of Rustavi noted, she is ready for cooperation, provided information about the contact person, and additionally offered written consent from the City Hall regarding the acquisition of seedlings to strengthen communication with donors.

– Our next question to the representative of the Environmental Supervision Department was about the publicity of data recorded by the self-monitoring system. Since all the companies we spoke to agreed to make their self-monitoring data public, we were interested in what could be done at the legislative level to implement this in practice.

Additionally, we were interested in when the data from the background station installed near School No.20 would be reflected on the atmospheric air quality portal (air.gov.ge).

As the representative of the Environmental Supervision Department explained, company representatives have not expressed clear consent in their communication with the ministry on this issue; also, this issue needs to be considered at the legislative level.

Regarding the data from the background station near School No.20 being displayed on the portal, the agency representative noted that this data would soon be reflected on the portal, but we did not receive an exact date.

– We also emphasized the issue of dry cutting and processing of stone, which has recently become a significant problem in Rustavi due to intensive construction. We asked the Mayor of Rustavi to include a separate condition in tenders for participating companies not to use dry stone cutting and processing.

Regarding this, the Mayor of Rustavi expressed willingness for the team to try to review and add details regarding this matter in the conditions for the contractor to fulfill.

– Regarding inspections carried out in Rustavi, we were interested in whether there are plans to proactively publish information about the inspected enterprises and any violations found at a certain periodicity in the future.

As the representative of the Environmental Supervision Department noted, within the framework of Open Governance, the ministry has undertaken an obligation to publish this information. Accordingly, in the upcoming years, the publication of inspection documents (act, report, decision) will begin on the website of the Environmental Supervision Department. However, this will happen after the court decision has already been made.

– We also highlighted the challenges faced during inspections, for example, when an inspector does not have an emission measuring device upon arrival on-site or cannot enter the enterprise for some reason when the enterprise is in the operating process (these are real facts that often occur after we or other citizens call the Environmental Supervision Department).

The representative of the Environmental Supervision Department explained that he does not have full information about such cases but will address this issue within the department and seek ways to overcome these challenges.

– Additionally, considering the reality, that almost every month, various enterprises increase their production or new enterprises open, and consequently, the amount of emissions also increases. Despite the operation of filters, the cumulative impact on the city increases. We are interested in the ministry’s plan to ensure that business is not hampered and increased production does not affect air quality.

On this, the representative of the Environmental Supervision Department noted, that a possible solution to this issue is for experts to assess the situation, determine the cumulative impact of planned and existing activities, and if the cumulative impact increases due to increased production or the construction of a new enterprise, an environmental decision on the activity will not be issued.

– Our team emphasized the issue of ongoing construction on Iaghluja and the impact of this construction on the eco-condition of Rustavi.

As it became clear at the meeting, this territory does not belong to Rustavi, and the details regarding this issue cannot be resolved solely within Rustavi’s competence without coordination with neighboring municipalities.

– We also raised the issue of interurban transport at this meeting and asked about the current situation. Specifically, about the remaining challenges and the plans of Rustavi City Hall.

Nino Latsabidze noted that they are still working on this issue with the Tbilisi City Hall. According to her, the challenge is the smooth and uninterrupted movement of yellow “marshutkas” (minibuses) on the territory of Tbilisi, as they do not have the right to travel in the bus lane. Consequently, certain legislative changes are needed. However, the yellow minibuses themselves are also a problem as they are outdated. As the mayor noted, she had a meeting with the Minister of Finance on this issue to mobilize some funds and offer more comfortable transportation for the population.

The “Gavigudet” movement is actively monitoring the implementation of these and other air-related issues/obligations and will traditionally share all the details with the public.