Law proposal on fight against mucilage to be presented

ANKARA

A 30-article law proposal on the fight against the mucilage will be presented by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to parliament this week.

Mucilage, a thick and slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, surfaced on the Marmara Sea in May 2021, and invaded a large area in the following June, alarming marine biologists, environmentalists and eventually officials.

The proposal mainly points out the mandate of establishing biological wastewater treatment plants in seven provinces bordering the Marmara Sea.

The provinces are Istanbul, Kocaeli Yalova, Bursa, Balıkesir, Çanakkale and Tekirdağ.

The authority to establish and direct these facilities will be given to local municipalities, the proposal read. “However, if the municipalities can not perform needed projects in the given time, the authority will be shifted to the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry,” it added.

According to the proposal, all infrastructure projects will be set to prevent industrial waste from reaching the sea immediately and the citizens will be able to make a denunciation about the municipalities that do not clean the seawaters.

Turkey launched a massive cleanup campaign in 15 districts of seven provinces along the coast of the Marmara Sea on June 8, 2021, to eliminate the aggravating mucilage problem that has severely affected the marine ecosystem.

Based on the 22-point action plan announced by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, tons of mucilage was collected with the help of vacuum trucks.