Czech parliament approves nuclear waste repository law, denies municipalities veto rights

The law approved by the Chamber of Deputies today is intended to establish rules for preparing the construction of a deep geological repository for radioactive waste. It does not give municipalities the right to veto construction of a repository in their territory. Unlike the government’s original bill, it also does not make the government’s decision to build the repository conditional on approval by both houses of parliament. The legislation, supported by 167 of the 177 MPs present, will now be considered by the Senate.

Individual MPs from the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), the Pirates and the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) proposed giving municipalities the veto they had called for, but only 25 MPs from those parties voted in favour. Instead, the lower house extended the deadlines in the government’s bill, giving municipalities more time to express their views on the construction of a repository.

Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (nominated by STAN) stressed that the law is intended to support the development of nuclear energy in Czechia and is another step towards strengthening energy security. According to the minister, the law is not intended to speed up the construction of the repository, but to ensure the greatest possible respect for the interests of the affected municipalities, which will have sufficient time to express their views. The minister said that giving them a veto “has no precedent for infrastructure projects of comparable importance in the public interest”.

Síkela recalled a 2020 ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court, according to which no one can insist on a veto simply because they do not want potential negative impacts in their vicinity. The minister said that the possibility of a veto was not included in the bill’s policy framework either, which was prepared by the previous government led by Andrej Babiš (ANO).

The requirement for municipalities to approve construction of the repository was proposed as an amendment to the government’s bill by MPs Vít Kaňkovský (KDU-ČSL), Klára Kocmanová (Pirates) and Radek Koten (SPD). They recommended drawing on similar Finnish legislation. Síkela noted that the adopted model is used in Germany, France and Switzerland. Ivan Adamec (ODS) said that municipalities cannot veto the state’s strategic interests and that rules for building a repository have been under discussion for two decades.

The Platform Against the Deep Geological Repository, which brings together 52 municipalities and associations, is calling for the requirement to be enshrined in law. It asked the government to substantially revise the bill. According to the platform, the proposal does not strengthen municipalities’ position in the joint decision-making process. It also warned of the risk that the time available for geological surveys and the selection of a final repository site could be cut short, with the site selected as early as 2028, as proposed by the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO).

Koten’s proposal, in line with the government’s bill, also provided for the government’s decision on the repository site to require approval by both houses of parliament. The Chamber of Deputies’ Economic Committee recommended scrapping this requirement. Under its recommendation, the government would only have to submit its decision to both houses of Parliament for information, and it would take effect 180 days after submission.

ANO MP Berenika Peštová described the decision on the repository’s location as a managerial one, arguing that Parliament should intervene if compensation for affected municipalities is insufficient. Kaňkovský objected that the government could overturn the previous cabinet’s decision itself if the requirement for parliamentary approval is not enshrined in law.

Under amendments adopted on the recommendation of the Economic Committee, the bill on proceedings related to a deep geological repository for radioactive waste would give municipalities 140 days to comment on a proposal to designate a site for the repository. The government had originally proposed a 90-day deadline. The law would also explicitly require the Ministry of Industry and Trade to discuss the proposed site with the Ministry of the Environment and with residents of the affected municipalities in whose territory it is located. It would also allow the government to set compensation payments for affected municipalities above the amounts provided for under the Atomic Act.

According to Síkela, the law establishes rules for the individual proceedings, primarily setting out the rights of affected municipalities. It is intended to establish rules for oral hearings and, above all, define the so-called participation of affected municipalities in proceedings to designate a protected area for a deep geological repository. The government will set up a working group to communicate with municipalities, which should facilitate their involvement in preparing and operating the repository.

SÚRAO plans to investigate four areas for the repository: Horka and Hrádek in the Vysočina Region, Janoch near the Temelín nuclear power plant in South Bohemia, and Březový potok in the Klatovy area. Preparations for geological surveys and research will begin this year. The site for the repository of spent nuclear fuel is due to be selected in 2030; according to the platform opposing the repository, the law would bring this deadline forward by two years. Thousands of tonnes of spent fuel from nuclear power plants are to be permanently stored in the repository, half a kilometre underground. The repository was originally due to be built by 2065, but calls to speed up construction have emerged following the EU’s temporary classification of nuclear energy as a green investment. The condition is that countries relying on nuclear energy must have deep geological repositories by 2050.