STA, 9 July 2021 - Voters will be heading to the polls on Sunday to support or reject a set of changes to the waters act passed on 30 March. The government and the bill's opponents have presented diametrically opposing views on whether the new legislation expands or limits construction in areas around bodies of water.
Coastal or embankment areas are currently defined as five or 15 metres from the perimeter of a body of water such as the sea, lake or river.
Under Article 14 of the existing waters act, the government can narrow coastal or embankment areas on the proposal of developers, but only under certain conditions.
Construction is now allowed only in an existing building plot within a town, it must not worsen flood safety or threat of erosion, and must not affect water quality.
If a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, however, no special safety measures regarding construction apply to it, despite the closeness of water.
The new act regulates this in Article 37, which the referendum proponents find the most problematic.
Although it introduces the provision that a water permit will have to be obtained for all construction projects, it no longer requires building only within an existing building plot within a developed area.
The opponents claim this significantly expands areas eligible for construction if municipal zoning plans are changed, which is easy under pressure from capital.
But the government says that the new Article 37 expands the strict rules from coastal and embankment areas to water areas and areas of intermittent lakes, as it prevents construction there, except for certain exceptions.
The exceptions are among others construction of public or utility infrastructure, including for the country's defence, or buildings constructed for public good, including hotels and restaurants.
Several types of construction related to water protection are also allowed along the construction for safe navigation or protection of people, animals or property.
These exceptions have been transposed from the existing law into the new one, with two more added: simple buildings and buildings for public use.
While the opponents admit that a few simple buildings will do no harm to waters, they believe a cumulative effect could be extremely harmful.
Since 2008 when the law enabled narrowing of coastal and embankment areas, there have been very few exceptions approved, which the opponents see as the existing law protecting waters relatively well.
Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Andrej Vizjak meanwhile says the new legislation improves the existing situation.
He has recently explained that the existing legislation allows all types of buildings if a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, including private mansions.
This will no longer be possible, as only simple and public-use buildings could be build there, while every project will also have to be approved by the Water Agency.
This means decisions will be in the hands of experts rather then politics, Vizjak has argued in favour of the new legislation.
However, the government and the three coalition parties seem to be largely isolated in their promotion of the new rules for areas close to waters.
The referendum proponents - a broad coalition of environmental NGOs termed the Movement for Drinking Water - had opposed the bill while it still in its early stages.
They have since seen massive support by those with vested interest, such as water experts and engineers, but also organisations with practically no direct link to water management, such as WWII veterans.
The University of Ljubljana stressed the new law enabled construction even on water, and the Speleological Association said it enhanced risks of pollution.
"In Slovenia we are well aware of the role of water and the water sources which we manage. We are one of the two EU member states which have legislated the right to drinking water by writing it down in the constitution," the Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU) has said as it presented its view against the bill.
In a heated political atmosphere, some see the referendum as a vote on the government, while the two opposing sides have also accused each other of misleading voters.
The campaign wraps up at midnight after problems with early voting at several major polling stations in Maribor and Ljubljana as well as problems with registration for absentee voting, leading to accusations of voter suppression.
