The environment minister says the complete remediation plan will be presented by 20 September. The campaign groups' demand for removal within three months is not a government commitment.
The protest put two different deadlines on the table
Representatives of about fifteen citizens' initiatives and environmental organisations demonstrated in Zagreb's Ban Jelačić Square on 5 September, calling for faster remediation of the former PPK Velebit site near Gospić. The reviewed reports did not provide a reliable official attendance figure.
The groups demanded a complete remediation plan within twenty days and removal of an estimated 33,000 tonnes of buried hazardous waste within three months. Their demand must be kept strictly separate from the government's commitment.
What was promised is publication of the plan by 20 September
Environment Minister Marija Vučković told HRT that the complete remediation plan would be presented publicly by 20 September. She said this date had already been agreed at a meeting in late July.
The deadline concerns presentation of the plan. It is neither the start of all work nor a promised completion date for removal. Total costs, binding implementation deadlines and the sequence of all work must still emerge from the announced plan and procurement processes.
The three-month deadline remains a demand
Vučković did not commit to the demand for complete removal within three months. She said duration would be an important part of the plan, but that three months was difficult to promise at this stage.
A headline such as “Government to clear everything by December” would therefore be unsupported. The confirmed facts are the date for presenting the plan and the campaign groups' political demands, not completion of the entire remediation within one quarter.
An appeal period still applies to the first decisions
Selection decisions have been issued for the watertight interim cover and removal of material stored in big bags. On 4 September, however, the government pointed to a ten-day appeal period.
Contracts and the start of work can follow only if that period ends without complications. The statement that removal could then begin quickly is therefore conditional, not confirmation that clearance is already under way at the site.
Surface waste and buried ash remain separate procedures
Bids have been evaluated for around 4,500 tonnes of loose material on the surface, while a separate procurement route is being prepared for the most difficult part: an estimated 32,000 to 33,000 tonnes of buried ash. Progress in one phase says nothing about completion of the other.
The government indicated that the large procedure would formally begin around the end of September. That too would be a procurement step, not physical removal of the buried mass.
Drinking-water findings and site remediation answer different questions
The government continues to state that water from the public supply complies with requirements according to the available tests. This statement concerns the tested water supply, not completion or the environmental balance of the waste site.
Conversely, the need for remediation alone does not prove specific contamination of every well or pipeline. Health and travel decisions require current measurements and instructions from the responsible authorities; the site requires contracts, a start of work, quantity records and proof of disposal.
These five pieces of evidence will make progress verifiable
After 20 September, the announced plan should clearly identify five things: the order of measures, contractors or procurement routes, start dates, realistic completion deadlines and funding. Without them, a presentation remains politically important but practically incomplete.
Visible milestones then matter: signed contracts, an established worksite, quantities removed and demonstrably received, and documented completion. Those are the measures by which to judge whether a timetable has become real remediation.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Walk for Lika, walk for CroatiaHRT · 5 September 2026protest in Zagreb, participating campaign groups and demands for a plan and a three-month deadline
- Vučković: We will present the Gospić remediation plan by 20 SeptemberHRT · 5 September 2026commitment to present the plan by 20 September, current appeal period and no commitment to three months
- We understand people's concern; we will accelerate the remediationGovernment of the Republic of Croatia · 2 September 2026selection decisions, ten-day estimate, 4,500 tonnes of surface waste and 32,000 to 33,000 tonnes of ash
- Waste in Gospić will be remediated in due timeGovernment of the Republic of Croatia · 4 September 2026ten-day appeal period, possible rapid removal of big bags and preparation of the complete remediation plan
- Waste remediation at the former PPK Velebit site – GospićEnvironmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund · checked 6 September 2026official project overview and context for the parallel remediation steps
