Laura Otýpková
Lawyer and Head of the Responsible Energy Team
Thanks to legal support from the Frank Bold expert group, the Czech Neighborhood Association Uhelná, which has been opposing the adverse effects of mining at the Polish Turów mine, has achieved a significant milestone: at their initiative, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI) launched an investigation to assess whether mining activities at Turów are causing long-term water loss on the Czech side of the border. This is one of the first cases in which the Czech office has applied the Act on the Prevention of Ecological Damage. The Inspectorate has also included the Polish mining company PGE in the proceedings.
The Inspectorate notified the mine operator that they are now a party to the proceedings, and the Czech side could potentially demand preventive measures and remediation of environmental damage caused by mining. "The Act on the Prevention of Environmental Damage is a vital legal tool, based on European law, that allows environmental issues to be addressed across the entire EU," said Laura Otýpková, a lawyer from the Frank Bold group who has been focused on mining-related impacts for some time.
"Our legal strategy is innovative on several levels – the environmental liability law has rarely been used in the Czech Republic and, to our knowledge, has never been applied to cross-border environmental damage," the lawyer added.
The Inspectorate has now requested that PGE provide valid mining and environmental permits issued by Polish authorities, with a focus on the permit for water pumping. Water flows into Polish territory from beyond the Czech border, and the most affected are residents near Hrádek nad Nisou, particularly in Václavice and Uhelná, which are located close to the mine.
"We have experienced significant environmental damage firsthand for years. Groundwater levels have been falling for decades, and the mining is getting closer to our homes, exacerbating other negative impacts. The cause is clear, and the inclusion of the mine operator as a party to the proceedings indicates that the environmental inspection might share our view," said Milan Starec, a resident of Uhelná and a representative of the Neighbors Association. The association's petition to CEI also pointed out that groundwater levels have been dropping by more than a meter each year since 2015.
"A few years ago, when evaluating the environmental impact of Turów’s expansion, PGE claimed that the mining had no adverse effects on Czech territory. However, the long-standing and undeniable outflow of water from the Czech side to the mine tells a different story. We fear that the newly built underground sealing wall, part of the mine’s expansion plan from the beginning, may not make a significant difference in the future," said Lukáš Hrábek, spokesperson for Greenpeace CR.
If ecological damage is proven, CEI is legally required to impose preventive and remedial measures or take actions themselves and seek financial compensation from the responsible party. The Neighborhood Association has proposed measures such as limiting the extent of mining or extending and deepening the underground barrier to prevent further water inflow into the mine.
"Environmental damage in this case refers to the drop in groundwater levels, which the Czech Environmental Inspectorate is obliged by law to address. The Czech-Polish intergovernmental agreement of February 2022 does not alter this obligation. The agreement only committed the Czech government to halt proceedings before the EU Court of Justice, but it does not preclude the application of the Act on the Prevention of Ecological Damage," Otýpková clarified.
One condition of the Czech-Polish agreement was the construction of an underground barrier to prevent water from flowing from Czech territory into the mine. However, monitoring during the first year of its operation revealed a paradoxical result: while the barrier is effectively preventing water from passing through, it has not stopped the outflow of water from the Czech Republic. It is possible that water continues to flow under or around the wall. As a result, despite the impermeable barrier, water levels in the Czech Republic continue to decline.
The Frank Bold Society and the Neighbourhood Association Uhelná called on the Czech government today to be more consistent in its negotiations with Poland over mining at the Turów brown coal mine. According to both organisations, the government did not have enough information or time to prepare an agreement that would truly protect Czech interests. Moreover, the government has acted in a non-transparent manner by failing to inform the public in advance of the terms of the agreement being prepared, which should lead to the withdrawal of the action against Poland at the EU Court of Justice. The organisations have therefore drawn up a document with seven basic demands on which the Czech side should insist.
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