PGE EJ1, the company set up to prepare the investment and construction process of the first Polish nuclear power plant, is finalizing the next, important phase of preparations for the selection of the location. The Company has drawn up a Project Information Sheet (PIS) – an indispensable document for running the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure for the investment – and intends to submit an application within the next few days for the issuing of a Decision on Environmental Conditions and an application for the specification of the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report. Representatives of PGE EJ1 discussed the assumptions of the PIS with the residents of the location communes at information meetings held in Kopalino and Brzyno on 27-28 July
According to European and national environmental protection regulations, every large-scale investment project must be reviewed in terms of its impact on human beings and the natural environment. As the entity responsible for preparing the investment process of the construction of the nuclear power plant, PGE EJ1 is obliged to examine the impact of the NPP’s construction and maintenance on the inhabitants and natural environment in its vicinity under the project’s so called Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure. The purpose of the research and analysis thus carried out is to ensure the maximum safety of the plant’s operation.
In order to initiate the EIA procedure, the Company has prepared a Project Information Sheet (PIS). This PGE EJ1 document contains information, inter alia, on the scale and location of the investment, the possible variants of its execution, the projected volumes of water and raw materials to be used in the course of the construction and maintenance of the plant, as well as the solutions to be applied for the protection of the environment.
At the present stage, PGE EJ1 is considering three potential NPP sites in three Pomerian communes: ”Choczewo” and ”Lubiatowo-Kopalino” in the Choczewo commune and ”Żarnowiec” in the Krokowa and Gniewino communes. All of these locations have been listed as alternative options under consideration in the application for a decision on environmental conditions. Research and analysis in all of these location variants is now being conducted to assess the potential impacts on Natura 2000 conservation sites.
The contents and assumptions of the PIS have been presented to the residents of the location communes. The PIS is the first official document to present the key assumptions of the planned investment in a comprehensive way. We wished to discuss the information shown in the document with all the interested parties – the residents, local government and non-governmental organizations. We are doing this on our own initiative, outside the formal procedure, in order to ensure full access to information to all persons at each stage of the project – Maciej Stryjecki, Director of the Site, Infrastructure and Environmental Protection Office of PGE EJ1, explained. Within the next few days, PGE EJ1 will submit an application to the General Director for Environmental Protection for issuing a Decision on Environmental Conditions and an application for the specification of the scope of the EIA Report. The PIS will form an enclosure to that application.
For the purpose of the EIA Report, the Company will carry out additional environmental surveys in the locations recognized as alternative options. The surveys will be carried out over a period of at least 12 months, and will run for a full growing season. The PIS contains a proposed detailed research plan and environmental impact assessment methodology which are currently to be the subject of agreements with the General Directorate for Environmental Protection and of opinions offered under the transboundary procedure.
The preferred location of the NPP and the alternative location will be indicated in the EIA Report. The locations should be identified by the end of 2017. The General Director for Environmental Protection shall hold formal public and international consultations on the contents of the EIA Report. After the close of the process of gathering opinions and agreeing the contents, the General Director for Environmental Protection will undertake a decision on issuing the Decision on Environmental Conditions for one of the locations under consideration.
After obtaining an environmental decision and a general opinion of the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) concerning the location, PGE EJ1 will file an application with the Governor of the Pomeranian Voivodship for issuing a decision on the designation of the location of the investment. Having obtained these decisions, the investor will be able to address the Minister of Economy with a request for issuing the so called decision in principle regarding the investment.
