A five-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the Environmental Impact Assessment for the construction of a new nuclear power unit at Site 2 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant was lawful.„

A five-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeals against Decision No. 1-1/2015 of the Minister of Environment and Water, which approved the environmental impact assessment in connection with the implementation of an investment proposal "Construction of a new nuclear power plant of the latest generation on Site 2 of the "Kozloduy NPP". This result was reached after the annulment of a decision of a three-member panel of May 17 last year, which annulled the assessment. The decision in administrative case No. 12369 of 2018 is final.

The five-member panel accepts that when issuing Decision No. 1-1/2015, the mandatory procedures under the EIA Regulation, including the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, were complied with.

With regard to the issue raised by the applicants question of the long-term solution to the problem of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, the court accepted that by law this is an obligation of a third party not participating in the administrative proceedings. The management of spent nuclear fuel, radioactive waste and related measures for environmental protection and protection of human life and health is within the competence of the State Enterprise "Radioactive Waste" by virtue of the law, and not of "Kosloduy NPP - New Capacity" EAD, which is the assignor of the investment proposal for the construction of a new nuclear capacity.

With regard to the issue raised by the applicants Site selection question 2, the cassation instance notes that the choice was made in accordance with the opinions of the team of specialized experts who prepared the EIA report, of the specialized departments, including those responsible for the protection of biological diversity and the protection of water resources, including "Water Supply and Sewerage" Ltd., Vratsa, which manages the water supply facilities in the area.

By the issue of groundwater monitoring, the court accepted that an explicit measure was foreseen as part of the already functioning monitoring system of the Kozloduy NPP. The five-judge panel also found that the report explicitly took a position on the impact on the protected fish species Alosa sp. and the invasive species Asian cortibulus, and specific protection measures were also foreseen. This issue was also raised in the public debate in the Republic of Romania, as well as mentioned in the opinion of the Directorate "National Service for Nature Protection".

This act of the Supreme Administrative Court once again confirmed the conscientious and highly professional attitude of the teams of "Kozloduy NPP" EAD and "Kozloduy NPP - New Build" EAD towards the activities for the responsible and sustainable development of nuclear energy.