The Slovak Supreme Court has permanently blocked the licensing of a small hydropower plant in Žiar nad Hronom on the Hron River in central Slovakia, announced WWF on Thursday (30 July).
The Court ruled that the environmental impact assessment of this project - an assessment imposed by the European EIA Directive (2011/92/EU) – was not correct and stated that the “public interest, which is the protection of the environment, takes precedence over private business interests”. WWF has called this a landmark decision.
“A small hydroelectric power plant in Žiar nad Hronom would have been another obstacle on the Hron River. There are already two (Hronská Dúbrava and Zvolen) on that 25 km stretch of river. Both are impassable for migratory fish”, explained Miroslava Plassmann, CEO of WWF Slovakia, in a statement.
According to her, “it is a ground-breaking decision, because for the first time the Supreme Court paid close attention to the fact that building authorities must also take their role seriously to protect the environment in territorial proceedings”.
In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Banská Bystrica Regional Court, which had repealed the decision of the Žiar nad Hronom building authority to authorise the construction of a small hydroelectric power station on the river.
This case forms part of a series of legal disputes concerning the controversial construction of small hydropower plants. In addition to the 20 already inexistence, a further 22 are planned for construction. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)