...[E]nvironmental organisations...called on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) not to go ahead with a planned EUR 123 million loan for the Ombla hydropower plant near Dubrovnik in Croatia...In an open letter to the bank, the organisations point to ecological...problems with the plans, which even the consultants hired by the EBRD to assess the project have described as “high risk”. “The hydropower plant [is] planned by the Croatian electricity company HEP...Environmental Impact Study is more than 10 years old. It's an obvious example of rushing to finish destructive projects quickly before Croatia can be held accountable under EU environmental legislation,” said Jana Bedek of the Croatian Biospeleogical Society...“...The plant would be built in karst rock formations that are like a Swiss cheese. No one fully understands what is connected to what, and trying to plug these carries a high risk of failure and unintended effects on connected water systems,” added karst expert Dr. Ivo Lucic...Jagoda Munic of Friends of the Earth Croatia [said] “Considering the high environmental risks, we...ask the EBRD to withdraw from the project.” [Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited HEP to respond, but it has not done so.]