The work currently underway at the Doel 3 nuclear power plant in connection with the cessation of electricity generation can continue. This was decided by the Court of First Instance of Brussels. The NGO Association Vinçotte Nuclear (AVN), which had initiated summary proceedings, was therefore wrong on all counts. The organization can still appeal.
The Doel 3 nuclear power plant was licensed in 1982. In January 2003, the then government decided that no more electricity would be produced from October 2022. This has been the case since 1 October 2022. Since then, at the plant a number of activities have been carried out which, according to AVN, are part of a complete shutdown and decommissioning of the plant. The works would be in violation of European law, believes the organization.
“According to the relevant European directive, a project environmental impact statement (MER) is required for the construction of a nuclear power plant. The same applies to an extension, a termination and a decommissioning.
Directive
According to the court, however, no EIA is required for the works in progress. For example, the court finds that the law on phasing out nuclear power, voted in 2003, does not fall under the new EU EIA Directive of 13 December 2011, but under the old EIA Directive of 27 June 1985. The directive provides that no applies to projects adopted in detail through a specific national law.
Furthermore, according to the court, it appears that the nuclear phase-out law cannot be considered a project under the new EIA Directive, i.e. “the execution of construction works or the carrying out of other installations or works, or other interventions in the natural environment or in the landscape”.
According to Engie-Electrabel, the Belgian state and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), the work currently underway at Doel 3 is also not part of the decommissioning or decommissioning of the plant, but decommissioning. In AVN’s eyes, this post-operative phase was an interim period artificially created by the government and the FANC in violation of the EIA Directive.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.
