The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) assessed that the Municipality of Ormož (the municipality) was not effective in addressing the issue of unpleasant odours emanating from the Sodinci Plant Wastewater Treatment Plant (RČN Sodinci), thereby jeopardising the right of surrounding residents to a healthy living environment, based on Article 72 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. The Ombudsman suggested that the municipality, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing compensation dispute with the residents, address this issue as a priority and adopt and implement appropriate measures that will prevent further pollution of the environment with unpleasant odours. The municipality did not accept the Ombudsman's criticism and proposal, and its response was completely general, without any specific definition of the issue of unpleasant odours.

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The Ombudsman considered the complaint of the residents of the settlement of Sodinci (the complainants) regarding the operation of the aforementioned RČN Sodinci. In the light of the numerous inconveniences that the complainants pointed out, the Ombudsman identified the constant burdening of their living environment with unpleasant odours as the dominant complaint. The complainants also raised the issue of the inappropriate location of the RČN Sodinci in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, with attempts to relocate it elsewhere in the past having been unsuccessful. In the past, several inspection procedures have been carried out in this regard, and several irregularities have been identified and eliminated, but the problem of the stench has nevertheless persisted. Since the municipality has not responded to the issue, according to the complainants, they have also filed a compensation claim against it. According to the information known to the Ombudsman, the court proceedings are still ongoing at the time of writing this article.

Based on the examination of extensive documentation, the Ombudsman contacted the municipality, as well as the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Natural Resources and Spatial Planning (IRSNVP) and the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for the Environment and Energy (IRSOE), with inquiries. He received extensive responses from the inspectorates in some cases, but did not identify any irregularities in their conduct, as they responded to the reports received within the scope of their competences.[1] The Ombudsman, however, saw the issue in question somewhat differently than the municipality outlined in its responses.

The municipality informed the Ombudsman in more detail about the historical background of the construction of the Sodinci sewage treatment plant and repeatedly emphasised that it had obtained all the necessary administrative permits. It also responded acceptably to the other complaints of the complainants (watering their basements with sewage water, fish deaths, etc.). A meeting was held with the locals on this topic in 2021, but the municipality's subsequent (in)actions did not solve the problem of the stench.[2] Regardless, the municipality has decided not to consider moving the wastewater treatment plant to another location.

The Ombudsman could welcome the implementation of measures to eliminate irregularities identified in previous inspection procedures, but unfortunately, it was not possible to discern from its explanations any specific measures to reduce the exposure of nearby residents to unpleasant odours or stenches, which was indirectly confirmed by the first-instance judgment, which the Ombudsman became aware of. The only measure planned in the past regarding the stench was the planned establishment of a green belt, which was not implemented. Therefore, even assuming the usual case law, according to which, despite the lack of regulations on emission concentrations of odours in the environment, environmental pollutants cannot burden the environment indefinitely with such emissions, the Ombudsman could not agree with the municipality's general assessment that it was actually effective in solving the problems of the initiators. He assessed that not all long-term impacts of the Sodinci Wastewater Treatment Plant on the quality of life of nearby residents were comprehensively foreseen, and the occurrence of an inappropriate odour was not satisfactorily addressed. In view of the above, the Ombudsman made the above criticism to the municipality, which it did not accept. In response, the Ombudsman received only a general response from the municipality, summarising the previously known facts and emphasising its compliance with statutory obligations.

The Ombudsman was negatively surprised by the municipality's response, as such an approach shows the municipality's bureaucratic rigidity and indicates a lack of responsibility for finding real solutions. When detecting real problems that originate from its sphere of influence, a local government body is expected, in the spirit of the principle of good governance and the right to a healthy living environment, not to only blindly follow the letter of the law, but also to reflect on the effects of spatial interventions and to promptly address the negative impacts that certain spatial interventions may cause, despite their possible legal compliance. The municipality did not meet this expectation.

The Ombudsman was unfortunately unsuccessful in his efforts with the municipality, and therefore a solution to the problems of the complainants should probably be expected only after the conclusion of the aforementioned court proceedings. The Ombudsman must increasingly establish that many disputes in the area could be resolved even without using the provided legal remedies, but this is only possible if the authorities, in particular, are willing to first recognise the individual problem and effectively address it. The path to an appropriate collective awareness, especially among local authorities, will probably still be a long one.17.1-11/2023 

[1] At the same time, the IRSOE response also comprehensively clarified the issue of the lack of regulation of odour from a type of treatment plant such as the RČN Sodinci. According to the IRSOE interpretation, the RČN Sodinci is not a plant in which sludge from treatment plants would also be dried and would therefore fall under the regulations of the Regulation on the Emission of Substances into the Air from Stationary Sources of Pollution, which for such plants sets a limit value for odour concentration in waste gas of 500 ouE/m3. Consequently, the valid environmental permit for the RČN Sodinci does not prescribe this limit value.

[2] The only measure planned in this direction in the past was the establishment of a green belt, which was not implemented.