Czech municipalities in the Pošumaví region seek removal from nuclear repository sites, ministry disagrees

Municipalities in the Pošumaví region have asked Industry Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN) to remove the Březový potok site from the four areas under consideration in Czechia for a radioactive waste repository. The Czech News Agency has seen the mayors' letter. However, following expert recommendations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) continues to support exploration work at all four sites and has offered the Pošumaví municipalities dialogue with the ministry or the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO). The new head of SÚRAO met with municipal representatives in January.

The mayors of all nine municipalities and the town of Horažďovice, whose cadastral areas are being considered by the state for the construction of a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, argue in their letter that the site was included in the plan without their cooperation and that SÚRAO merely informed the municipalities of this unilaterally. Moreover, the area of interest was expanded for the third time the year before last. They said that since 2003, when the state announced the plan, all local councils had opposed the repository at the site and had always rejected exploration and research work in their administrative areas. “And we do not agree with it now either,” the mayors said. They reiterated that over 20 years, lawmakers have not passed any legislation addressing municipalities' rights in this matter.