Energy, Legislation, Lithuania

Based on unofficial information, Arvydas Sekmokas, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Arvydas Darulis, the head of the Board, were dictating to other members of the Board who do not wish to risk their reputation over dubious decisions.

Head of AB Vilniaus Silumos Tinklai, former advisor to the Lithuanian president on economics, Doctor of Laws Giedre Kaminskaite-Salters is also strongly resolved to step down following the withdrawal of the Board which appointed her. "I will state briefly, our and the Municipality's positions concerning corporate management have diverged," said Kaminskaite-Salters.

It is suspected that waste which had been brought from Ireland to Klaipeda was managed violating the law. Nearly 3,000 tonnes of waste had only to be sorted, but it is believed to have been incinerated instead. "A while ago the municipality was informed that waste was transported by a stevedoring company. People who informed about this expressed their concern. I immediately ordered to carry out an investigation, which was done," said Klaipeda Mayor Vytautas Grybliauskas.

According to the mayor, based on the investigation's findings one can assume that waste was transported illegally and was not sorted but incinerated at Fortum Klaipeda combined heat and power plant.

Law enforcement and environmental protection agencies are trying to determine how Fortum Klaipeda combined heat and power plant could have incinerated waste imported from abroad violating the law. "The story might evolve into a large court battle. We must be principled and vigilant as far as law violations threatening the quality of life of Klaipeda's residents are concerned. We will not allow to turn Klaipeda into a transit city for importing and incinerating waste," Klaipeda Mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas said.

According to him, many questions are yet to be answered. It is unclear whether a one-off shipment was incinerated, or if it was a part of a larger shipment which is being brought in small portions. However, initial data shows that the law was violated not by Fortum Klaipeda, which incinerated the waste, but by company Satruva, which imported it.