Šumava foothills municipalities sue Czech environment ministry over nuclear repository survey permit

All ten municipalities in the Březový potok area near Horažďovice in the Klatovy District, where a radioactive waste repository could be built, today filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) with the Municipal Court in Prague. They object to the ministry’s decision to permit geological surveying and research in the area, which is due to begin soon with geological mapping. The survey is expected to last up to two years. The lawsuit includes a request to suspend the start of exploratory drilling and was filed today at 12:18, Horažďovice Mayor and Platform Against the Repository representative Michael Forman (Citizens of Horažďovice) told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

“It is not possible for us at this stage to anticipate the consequences of a lawsuit about which we have no detailed information, or any possible court ruling,” Martina Bílá, spokesperson for the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO), told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

MŽP spokesperson Veronika Krejčí said today that the ministry could not comment further until it knew the specific wording of the lawsuit.

According to the mayors, the lawsuit was exceptionally well prepared. It was filed by the Prague law firm Doucha Šikola advokáti, with which the municipalities have worked for a long time.

Last year, MŽP permitted surveying at four shortlisted sites. The municipalities appealed, and the ministry rejected their appeals in the cases of Březový potok and Janoch near Temelín. In the future, thousands of tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants are to be permanently stored in the repository half a kilometre underground. The municipalities have been opposing the repository for years. The state is to select the most suitable site for the repository by 2030 at the latest. Under an EU regulation, the repository, costing more than 100 billion crowns, must be built by 2050.

GeoTec, which signed a contract with SÚRAO last year for hydrogeological monitoring, asked municipalities and private landowners for permission to access their land several months ago, Forman said. “We rejected the request by a resolution of the council,” said Chanovice Mayor Petr Čotek (Association for the Future). He said all the municipalities in the Březový potok site had made the decision in coordination. “And at the latest protest rally in Velký Bor at the end of April, we advised residents to object as well,” Čotek said. If landowners refuse to let the company onto their land, the mayors said, it will approach the regional environmental department. Forman said it remained to be seen whether the surveying companies would take the risk of proceeding while the lawsuit was before the court. Geologists are not yet in the area, the mayors said.

The Březový potok survey area was designated in March this year, according to Bílá. “The first work to begin as part of the survey will be geological mapping. The municipalities were informed about the hydrogeological monitoring, which was presented to them last year. Workers have, of course, obtained access to the land where access is required by law,” the spokesperson said. A tender is currently underway to select a contractor for the deep boreholes.

Municipalities at all four sites being surveyed in the Czech Republic are to receive annual compensation throughout the preparation and construction phases. “The municipalities have not received it yet,” Čotek said. According to SÚRAO, the Březový potok site is to receive 31.2 million crowns a year, which Čotek called a laughable sum. “The municipalities face extensive construction work that will affect them for decades. And they’re throwing us a few crumbs,” he added.

The government is to set up a working group to communicate with the municipalities and facilitate their involvement in preparing and operating the repository. However, the municipalities have no veto over the final site selection.