The Environmental Impact Assessment decision is current and valid

A number of false and speculative statements have recently appeared in the public sphere and the media regarding the validity of the EIA Decision No. 1-1/2015 of the Minister of Environment and Water, which approved the investment proposal for the construction of a new nuclear power plant of the latest generation on Site 2 of the Kozloduy NPP, approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.

Due to the need to refute false allegations and dispel speculation, the Company's Management hereby informs of the following:                        

The EIA Decision No. 1-1/2015, which approved the investment proposal for the construction of a new nuclear power plant of the latest generation at the Kozloduy NPP site on Site 2, was issued by the Minister of Environment and Water. The competent authority takes an EIA decision based on:

• the EIA report and its annexes;
• the documentation and opinions requested and/or submitted during the procedure, including the supplement under Art. 17, para. 7;
• opinions of other specialized persons, bodies, organizations and structures that have been granted competences by a regulatory act in the field of components and factors of the environment, human health and cultural and historical heritage;
• the results of the public discussion, including the opinion of the contracting authority under Art. 17, para. 5;
• the decision of the Energy and Environmental Protection Agency at the Ministry of Environment and Water

Within the statutory 14-day period, the EIA Decision was appealed under the Administrative Procedure Code (APC) before the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). The judicial challenge of the EIA Decision took place within two regular court instances, with the final decision of the cassation instance being issued on 02.04.2019 (Decision No. 4904 on administrative case No. 12369 / 2018 in the inventory of the SAC).

According to Art. 90, para. 1 of the APC, administrative acts are not executed before the deadlines for their challenge have expired, and in the event of a complaint or protest - until the dispute is resolved by the relevant authority. In addition, Art. 166, para. 1 of the APC states that the challenge suspends the execution of the administrative act.

With the issuance of the final court decision of the cassation instance on 02.04.2019, the statutory ban on the implementation of the EIA Decision, regulated in Art. 90, para. 1 of the APC, was suspended, therefore, from this date the 5-year period for starting the implementation of the investment proposal, provided for in Art. 99, para. 12 of the Environmental Protection Act, begins. Therefore, at present, the EIA Decision approving the implementation of the investment proposal for the construction of a new nuclear power plant at the Kozloduy NPP site (Site No. 2) has not lost its legal effect.

The Company's management appeals to refrain from speculative statements that do not comply with the country's regulations.