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The Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) has positively considered the complaint of Polska Grupa Energetyczna against the decision of the Regional Administrative Court of 31 May 2023, which suspended the implementation of the environmental decision for the Turów mine. NSA ruled that the decision issued by the lower instance court was defective and for this reason, revoked the decision suspending the execution of the environmental decision.
“The NSA’s decision is very good news, especially for Poles, who have the right to expect the stability of the energy sector and energy security, and one of the foundations of these is the energy complex in Turów. For the residents of the region, it is a guarantee of energy security and the economy of the entire region.
said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
The court’s decision referred to Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, from which it follows that energy security is a constitutional value, since it is one of the guarantees of the independence of the state and the security of citizens. Moreover, the NSA stated that PGE’s arguments had been completely disregarded by the Provincial Administrative Court.
That is why we welcome with satisfaction the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, which, after examining PGE’s complaint against the decision of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw on 31 May 2023, annulled the contested decision and refused to suspend the enforceability of the environmental decision,”
A positive resolution of the complaint filed by PGE guarantees the return of the enforceability of the environmental decision. For the planned investment, the environmental decision is the culmination of a multi-stage environmental impact assessment procedure. In order to obtain the environmental decision, the Turów Mine prepared, inter alia, an extensive environmental report, which was subject to cross-border public consultations.
The consultation of the report culminated in the signing of memoranda of agreement by the Czech Republic and Germany in 2019. The consultation assessed the impact of the Turów Mine on each component of the environment and identified measures that the Turów Mine undertakes to take to minimise its negative environmental impact as much as possible. These measures were indicated in the environmental decision and are being implemented by the Turów Mine on an ongoing basis.