CYIL vol. 7 (2016)

375

CYIL 7 ȍ2016Ȏ

DO THE EUROPEANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT…

of a NPP, chose Astravets.”

The Ministry of Environment stated that Belarus “did

not provide any information whether any modern seismic investigations had been

carried out, even though there were four moderate earthquakes recorded in the area,

where the nuclear power plant is being built, in 1887–1908.”

The information

regarding possible impact of the NPP on the environment, that is, on the Neris

River, which flows out of Belarusian territory and flows through Lithuania, and also

on the surrounding areas and residents, has not been provided. If the Neris were

contaminated with radioactive waste, this factor would pose a threat to the supply

of drinking water to a large number of Lithuanian residents. Nor the Lithuanian

authorities have information about the emergency response plans that are necessary

to plan the evacuation of Vilnius city in case of a major accident in the Ostrovets

NPP.”

The problems with the information were set out in the Lithuanian submission

to the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention. Lithuania noted that

the documents provided by Belarus were properly translated only in 11 June 2013.

Before that, on some occasions (for example, at the public hearing organized on

2 March 2010) the documents were either not translated or translated improperly.

Furthermore, the information was provided with a very short advance time span

(or sometimes without it) for the Lithuanian institutions and public to become

acquainted with it.

Regarding Article 6, para 6 of the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees the

access of the public to all information relevant to decision-making and available to

a public authority, it can be stressed that the Ministry of Environment of Lithuania

had contacted the Belarusian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental

Protection and had repeatedly requested the provision of details about the impact

of the Project on the Lithuanian public and environment and other safety issues of

the project; but the information was not supplemented and provided.

As Lithuania

requested information about any adverse impact of the proposed Project on the

Lithuanian population and elements of the environment (air, drinking water, fauna

and flora of the Neris River etc.) and indication of the measures to be taken by

Belarus in order to mitigate this adverse impact, however, the answer provided was

that the constructed NPP will have no impact on the population and environment;

The Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Lithuania ‘Astravets nuclear power plant – so

many questions, so little answers’ (Communication Division, 23 February 2016)

VI/en/VI/article.php3?article_id=777> accessed 31 May 2016.

Ibid

Submission of Lithuanian (

supra

n 32).

Ibid