Environmental Impact Assessment Report
On 29 March 2022, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe filed an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) with the General Directorate for Environmental Protection. The EIA Report concerns the Project which consists in the construction and operation of the first Nuclear Power Plant in Poland with an electrical capacity of up to 3,750 MWe. This made it possible to reopen the environmental decision procedure at a later stage.
The EIA Report prepared by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe is the first such study in Poland for a nuclear power plant. That is why, during the entire process of developing the document, the company was supported by a dedicated team of the Technical Advisor (Jacobs Clean Energy Limited), composed of experienced specialists who had participated in the work on similar documentation for other nuclear power plants worldwide. Apart from the Technical Advisor, the entities involved in the EIA Report development included a number of Polish scientific bodies, and a variety of specialists experienced in preparing EIA Reports for major infrastructure projects.
The results of the Environmental Impact Assessment presented in the Report are the outcome of a survey program conducted on a scale unprecedented in Poland, designed in accordance with the Decision on the scope of the Report, with respect to the considered Project site variants and their sub-variants, as well as the associated infrastructure and other projects carried out by the third parties.
The EIA Report, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Act of 3 October 2008 on the provision of information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments, is key evidence in the administrative procedure for the Project environmental impact assessment, which is part of the procedure for issuing a decision on environmental conditions. The EIA Report is one of the most important elements of the procedure, which is to facilitate identification of all potential risks associated with implementation of the Project.
Public Notice of the General Director of Environmental Protection
Public Notice of the General Director of Environmental Protection of 6 June 2022 regarding the issue of a decision of the General Director of Environmental Protection of 6 June 2022 resuming the proceedings to issue the decision on environmental conditions for a project comprising: Construction and operation of the first Polish Nuclear Power Plant of up to 3750 MWe capacity, located in the communes of: Choczewo or Gniewino and Krokowa: https://www.gov.pl/web/gdos/zawiadomienie-generalnego-dyrektora-ochrony-srodowiska-z-6-czerwca-2022-r-znak-doos-oa42051201532
General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) applied for opinion to authorities
On 25 July 2022, the General Director for Environmental Protection issued letters to the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the Pomeranian National Sanitary Inspector for the Pomorskie Voivodeship, and the Director of the Regional Board of Water Management in Gdańsk of the State Water Holding ‘Polish Waters’ (Wody Polskie), requesting opinion before issuing a decision, according to Article 74(3) of the Act of 3 October 2008 on the provision of information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments: Public Notice of the General Director for Environmental Protection of 26 July 2022.
Transboundary procedure
On 16 September 2022, as part of transboundary consultation, documents concerning the transboundary environmental impact assessment were sent by the General Director for Environmental Protection to the states participating in this international procedure. The documentation comprises a 1,200-page report written in Polish, English, German, and Lithuanian, for other countries to assess a potential transboundary environmental impact, the summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, translated into languages of the affected countries, and the EIA Report itself, prepared in Polish. Transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure will enable interested countries to submit their official comments and conduct public consultation, in line with regulations in place in a given country.
Proceeding to issue decision on environmental conditions: new tab on GDOŚ website
A new tab containing the most important information on the procedure has appeared on the General Directorate for Environmental Protection website. It can be found here. The website informs that the General Director for Environmental Protection will provide an opportunity for the public to participate in the procedure before issuing the decision on environmental conditions. More information on the public participation will be published later. The authority declared that comments and requests submitted outside this deadline will not be considered. The GDOŚ's website also contains the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the documentation for the transboundary EIA procedure.