We obtained the decision on environmental conditions for the first nuclear power plant in Poland
On 19 September 2023, the General Director for Environmental Protection issued the decision on environmental conditions for the first nuclear power plant, which will be built in Pomerania at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the territory of the Choczewo commune.
The decision issued by the authority is a key permit obtained in the investment process, as subsequent administrative approvals, including the location decision and the construction permit, must be consistent with the terms and conditions contained in the decision on environmental conditions.
The obtained decision on environmental conditions determines the site variant for the first nuclear power plant in Poland, at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site, it defines the conditions of using the environment at the stage of development and operation of the facility, requirements concerning the environment protection necessary to be included in the design documentation, requirements for counteracting the effects of industrial accidents, and it also imposes an obligation of the reassessment of environmental impact, as part of the procedure for issuing the construction permit.
‘The decision on environmental conditions issued by the General Director for Environmental Protection is a key milestone in the nuclear project permitting process – it determines the site for the first nuclear power plant in Poland and provides a range of information that is relevant for the subsequent stages, primarily design. The plans of the Government of the Republic of Poland to overhaul the energy mix are among the most ambitious in Europe. The scale of the challenges and the pace of change are enormous, therefore it is of great importance to timely execute large and complex investment projects, such as the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant, which will be executed according to the planned schedule,’ said Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.
‘The issued decision on environmental conditions is one of the most important stages in the permitting process and brings us significantly closer to the start of the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland. It defines the conditions that must be met in order to execute a nuclear investment project in compliance with environmental regulations and requirements on both the national and international level. On behalf of the company, I would like to thank the representatives of the General Directorate for Environmental Protection for their cooperation in the environmental procedure and the issuance of this decision,’ stressed Mateusz Berger, President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe.
The issuance of the decision on environmental conditions by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection was preceded by the submission of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) at the end of March 2022, which was the first comprehensive study of its kind in Poland prepared for a nuclear power plant. The draft decision was reviewed by the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the State Sanitary Inspector for the Pomorskie Voivodeship, the Director of the Regional Board of Water Management in Gdańsk of the State Water Holding ‘Wody Polskie,’ President of the Polish National Atomic Energy Agency, and the Minister of Climate and Environment.
The decision was also preceded by national and transboundary consultations with 14 countries that applied for participation in this procedure. The national consultations, held from 20 July to 18 August 2023, included all residents of Poland, who could review the documentation and submit their comments and conclusions.
The transboundary consultations were held from September 2022, i.e. from the time the transboundary documentation was provided to the countries concerned, until July 2023. As part of the procedure, relevant protocols were signed with all the countries involved, including 4 protocols signed after intergovernmental expert meetings held under Article 5 of the Espoo Convention, which contributed to closing the process within the assumed timeframe.