Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moscow told PAP she would talk to German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke about Turów. I will appeal to influence Zittau authorities to withdraw the complaint about the operation of the mine after 2026, said the head of the Ministry of Culture and Environment.
The Polish Minister of Climate and Environment meets in Słubice with the German Minister of the Environment Steffi Lemke.
In addition to the Oder River, talks will also focus on the operation of the Turów lignite mine
– reported Anna Moscow.
On May 31, the Provincial Administrative Court (WSA) in Warsaw issued a decision suspending the implementation of the environmental decree on the coal mining concession for the mine in Turów after 2026. The proceedings in this case are pending before the court in connection with the complaint against the environmental decree, which was issued in the autumn of 2022. Complaints have been lodged, among others, by Frank Bold Foundation, Greenpeace, Ecological Association EKO-UNIA, Die Grosse Kreisstadt Zittau (city of Zittau).
One of the parties that appealed against the decision of the General Directorate of Environmental Protection (JCOŚ) regarding the environmental decision on the basis of which we extended the concessions for Turów after 2026 to 2044 was the German city of Zittau. I will appeal to the German minister to take his responsibility and enter into a dialogue with the local authorities of Zittau, e.g. to withdraw this complaint
– the head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage told PAP.
And she added: “I can’t imagine Poland interfering in the German security and energy mix in such a way.”
The minister emphasized that the functioning of the Turów mine is important not only for Poland, but also for Germany.
Germany often imports electricity from this region of Poland, where it is produced from coal and lignite. Germany last year broke records for energy production from lignite. They know very well what energy security means
– said Minister Moscow.
The head of the Ministry of Climate and Environment stressed that last autumn GDOŚ environmental decision, on the basis of which in February this year The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage decided to grant a concession until April 27, 2044 for the Turów mine, which protects against an excessive impact of Turów on the environment.
Such orders were also issued for German mines and according to the same standards. It is therefore absurd that both environmental organizations and the German city are de facto against extra protection of the environment
argued the minister.
“Mining suspension will not be effective
Referring to the decision of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, the head of the Ministry of Culture and Environmental Protection pointed out that the court had in practice issued a safety measure that would allow the mine to operate after 2026 (i.e. after the expiry of the “old” concession for Turów).
This is a copy-paste situation from the CJEU, when a single judge decided to close the mine. I don’t know how we’re going to secure something that should happen from 2027. Maybe restrict mining now to close the mine from 2027? The court’s ruling is absurd in its terms
– assessed the head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The minister recalled that the same court, i.e. the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, ruled in 2022 in another case related to Turów, in which the judge indicated that closing the mine, as the complainants wanted, would be dangerous.
The judge pointed out at the time that the foundation, which took part in the proceedings, represented only a part of society and did not think about the consequences of ending the operation of the “Turów” depot in the short term. Among the consequences of the end of mining, the court indicated, among other things, that without its continuation it is not possible to ensure the long-term stability of the excavation, as well as the safety of KWB Turów and its surroundings due to the risk of landslides
she explained.
Anna Moskva added that the court indicated at the time that failure to continue mining would jeopardize the effectiveness of the operation of the anti-filtration screen, the construction of which is nearing completion.
Suspension of mining will not help reverse the lowering of the water table in Uhelna; no continuation of mining will prevent the construction of an earth-shielding pier, which will provide an additional barrier to noise emission from KWB Turów
she added.
The minister said that the Provincial Administrative Court would then emphasize that “immediate cessation of mining would result in the permanent closure of all power units in the Turów Power Plant and the power plant could not be restarted for technological reasons.”
The court added that Turów guarantees the continuity of the supply of heat energy up to approx. 50 percent. residents of Zgorzelec, and the cessation of mine operation would lead to poverty in district heating and a lack of hot water supply, as well as loss of employment for workers
she said.
Referring to the May decision of the Provincial Administrative Court, Anna Moscow stressed that “the court had practically the same documents, but gave a different ruling and did not refer to the substantive case”.
Procedurally, this last procedure was bizarre
she concluded.
Sasin’s reaction
Referring to the decision of the Provincial Administrative Court, Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said that the Polish judge “in the name of some blindness, in the name of a mission he probably thinks he has, to fight this government, because he is an activist of Iustitia (…) probably forgot that he does not hit the Polish government with this judgment, and it hits Poland.” As he said, the Turów case will still be subject to proceedings before the Provincial Administrative Court, which “will deal with the consideration of the substantive side of this application, the verdict pertaining to it, but nevertheless we will also case sue decision, which is not substantive.”
The wPolityce.pl portal reported that Provincial Administrative Court judge Jarosław Łuczaj, who issued the Turów case in May, supported the letter from “Iustitia”, which sided with the CJEU.
In September 2021, the Court of Justice of the EU fined Poland PLN 500,000. euros per day for not implementing a temporary measure and not stopping lignite mining at the Turów mine. The decision of the EU court was the result of a lawsuit brought by the Czech Republic against Poland. The Czech side believed that the expansion of the mine threatened access to water for the inhabitants of the Czech city of Liberec; they also complained about the noise and dust associated with the operation of the mine.
In February 2023, Poland reached an agreement with the Czech Republic, paying them EUR 35 million in compensation and transferring EUR 10 million to the Fund for Small Environmental Projects.
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Source: wPolityce