Energy issues

28. 6. 2017 |

June 28, 2017 - These days, the Strategic Environmental Assessment process for the Government's National Programme on Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Management is culminating. The Association of Environmental Organizations called Green Circle and Calla - Association for Preservation of the Environment have been criticizing the national programme for a long time. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) refuses to prepare and evaluate other possible alternatives to the final deep geological repository for hazardous radioactive waste management. It ignores not only the views of the affected municipalities and the public, but also the conclusions of the Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) which is in charge of the assessment procedure. More in a press release.

15. 6. 2017 | Another meeting of the Permanent Nuclear Energy Committee (SVJ) was held in a village of Dukovany. Although it deals with the preparation of investments in new nuclear reactors which is worth hundreds of billions of Czech crowns and has an impact on the public budgets and people's financial situation, its approach is accompanied by unusual lack of transparency. Since 2017, no meeting minutes have been processed, instead of them there are only summary conclusions - press releases intended for the public. More in a press release.

14. 6. 2017 | The European Commission has now given the Czech Republic and the other four countries two months to submit a national programme on radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management. The approved national programme was to be actually submitted by individual countries by 23rd August 2015. However, so far a process of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is still ongoing in the Czech Republic. The reasons for the delay should be sought at the level of Ministry of Industry and Trade – even though the national programme was written in 2013, the government took note of it only at the end of 2014 and an evaluation of the national programme was published only in May 2017. More in a press release.

14. 6. 2017 | "National Programme on Radioactive Waste Management: the State has thrown away its opportunity to open public debate" - this is how the Platform Against Deep Repository described the ongoing process of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the new Governmental National Programme on Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Management. The public can attend the public hearing in Prague on June 28 and can send the comments on the national programme by July 3 using this online form. See more on the Platform's standpoint in its press release.

7. 6. 2017 | This time the Assembly of the members of the Platform Against Deep Repository took place in Chanovice which is in another of the sites threatened by the deep geological repository project, called the Březový potok by the Repository Authority (RAWRA). Since the October meeting in Božejovice, the group has strengthened its membership to 34 (22 municipalities and 12 associations from all seven original sites). More in the press release.

28. 4. 2017 | The uranium mining in the Czech Republic has finally ended when the last minecart with pitchblende (or uraninite) was exported from the Rožná I uranium mine. The extraction and processing of uranium ore has caused great damage, the Czech Republic has been forced to spend more than 40 billion Czech crowns on remediation since 1989 and another CZK 60 billion will still be needed. The plans of the Ministry of Industry for the future mining of other uranium deposits, as mentioned in the Czech Raw Materials Policy, should be abandoned for good simply for these reasons. More in the press release.

25. 1. 2017 | People may publicly comment (in the SEA process) on the new Raw Mineral Policy of the Czech Republic, which was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO). MPO intends to substantially transform the post-November 1989 course in the gradual phasing out of problematic uranium mining and open the door to new mining of additional uranium deposits, primarily in Brzkov. More in the press release. An online form with a template comment is here.

18. 1. 2017 |

January 18, 2017 - On January 16, Government did not approved the legislative intent of the draft Act to strengthen the rights of municipalities in the siting process for a deep geological repository. By postponing the discussion until half of 2018, it has left the problem to the next government. The decision of the government's cabinet is the fiasco after several years of work of government offices headed by Minister Mládek. More in the press release.

4. 1. 2017 | On December 31, 2016, validity of established exploration areas for siting process for a deep geological repository in seven sites expired and the state Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (RAWRA) should thus finish all its geological surveys. Although a new procedure for the extension of expired validity for two years was launched in the last days of 2016, the decision on it will be taken in several weeks, or rather months because of municipalities' disagreement. More in the press release.