Environment Minister: ANAR, politically controlled — 100 hectares of illegal extraction on Olt with years without inspections
Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu accuses ANAR of political subordination, permitting illegal aggregate extraction across 100 hectares with damages of tens of millions of lei.
ANAR accused of political subordination following illegal aggregate extraction across 100 hectares in Olt zone
According to Jurnalul.ro, Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu stated on Tuesday that the National Administration "Romanian Waters" (ANAR) has become a "vulnerable system", politically controlled, which has tolerated for years illegal extraction of gravel and mineral aggregates with damages of "tens of millions of lei for Romania".
Buzoianu based her accusations on a report from the Control Body of the Environment Ministry regarding the situation in the Olt river zone, completed approximately a week before the statements.
A lake of 75 hectares created without any authorisation
"ANAR has become a vulnerable system, controlled for far too long rather by political order, without great signs of responsibility from those who turn a blind eye to illegalities with damages of tens of millions of lei for Romania", the minister stated.
She presented the case of the company Mineralport, which allegedly excavated an area of 75 hectares, transforming the zone — previously dry land — into an artificial lake. "It might look like a form of relief, it might look like a lake. In fact, a lake has been created where the entire zone was previously earth through extraction of aggregates completely illegally, without any kind of authorisation", Buzoianu said. According to her statements, in the last 15 years no inspection of this site has been carried out.
The Ministry estimates that Mineralport extracted over five million cubic metres of aggregates without authorisation, causing damage of over 10 million lei from this category alone. "We're not even talking about water", the minister added.
Few inspections, rare sanctions
The Control Body's report shows that, at the level of the Olt Basin Administration, a limited number of inspections regarding aggregate extraction were carried out in the interval 2019–2026, and the sanctions applied were rare.
In 2019 and 2020, 12 inspections were carried out per year. The number fell to two in 2021 and to five in 2022, to return to ten in 2023 and 12 in 2024. In 2025, ten inspections were carried out, with a single sanction applied, valued at 40,000 lei. In 2026, five minutes of proceedings were drawn up, of which two resulted in fines totalling 115,000 lei.
Mineralport and Pond Star — 100 hectares of illegal extraction
Buzoianu clarified that the investigations concerned two companies: Mineralport and Pond Star. Together, the two firms carried out illegal aggregate extraction across a total area of 100 hectares, with "damages of tens of millions for Romania".
"The Olt Basin Administration and the Olt Waters Management System, between 2010 and 2021, thus for a period of 11 years, did not carry out any inspection at Pond Star", the minister stressed, adding that the situation at Mineralport is similar: "It reached the point where they did not carry out even a single inspection from 2011 until 2026."
The Control Body's report was forwarded to ANAR leadership.
Legal dispute surrounding the mandate of the director from Olt
A second subject addressed by Buzoianu concerns the mandate of Mădălina Ion-Duca, general director of the Olt Basin Administration, which was to expire on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. The minister said that, following the findings of the Control Body — which explicitly recommended disciplinary measures against those responsible —, ANAR leadership proposed replacing her.
However, ANAR's legal service, represented by Cătălin Caloian, argued that the only legal solution is to extend Ion-Duca's mandate. "Mr Cătălin Caloian, head of legal service at ANAR, argues that a person who was caught completely ignoring these illegalities is the only person to whom a mandate extension can still be granted", the minister stated.
Accusations of institutional political capture
Buzoianu went further, contending that the situation at ANAR goes beyond simple administrative negligence. "Favouring it in this way, through the use of function, is further evidence that this institution has been completely captured politically and certainly in this case we have PSD representatives who are there", she declared.
The Environment Ministry did not indicate, in the public statements on Tuesday, whether the case has also been forwarded to criminal investigation authorities or whether concrete disciplinary measures have already been taken against inspectors who failed to carry out mandatory inspections at the two companies.
Source: Jurnalul.ro