BERLIN (AP) 鈥 Germany's government accused Poland on Monday of failing to stop the dumping of pollutants that contributed to the deaths of hundreds of tons of fish in the Oder River, which runs along the border between the two countries.
The mass fish die-off last summer caused friction between Warsaw and Berlin, which both blamed on the Polish stretch of the river for promoting the growth of deadly golden algae. The environmental group Greenpeace said wastewater from Poland鈥檚 was most likely responsible.
鈥淲e see increasing signs that salts continue to be discharged (into the Oder),鈥 German Environment Ministry spokesperson Christopher Stolzenberg said. 鈥淭here has been no reaction by the Polish side to limit the salt discharge.鈥
He said a similar die-off could happen again this summer but noted that water levels and high temperatures were .
鈥淲e need to see what's going to happen in the next weeks and months,鈥 Stolzenberg told reporters in Berlin.
German officials have reached out to their Polish counterparts 鈥渁t all levels鈥 to raise awareness about the risk of another environmental catastrophe, he said.
鈥淚t can't be in anybody's interest to have a second such disaster,鈥 Stolzenberg said. 鈥淎t the moment, the signs aren't good, and in the end it's a question of time and also circumstances ... whether it could happen again.鈥
Aleksander Brzozka, a spokesperson for Poland鈥檚 Climate and Environment Ministry, said in text message that the Polish government was in 鈥渃onstant touch with the German side and they exchange information on a current basis.鈥
