Ecoclub will again appeal in court a positive conclusion on the environmental impact assessment about planned activities of the Kronospan plant.
The conclusion was issued by the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Rivne Regional State Administration and made possible the construction of the enterprise. This is stated in the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The Supreme Court returned the case to the local court.
Ecoclub applied to the Supreme Court to defend the right to appeal the conclusion on an environmental impact assessment. This case has been going on since August 2020, when Ecoclub was not allowed to sue the positive conclusion of the environmental impact assessment of Kronospan.
Ecoclub considers it illegal, that our lawsuit against the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Rivne Regional State Administration was banned in the court of the first instance. Now we`re waiting for a fair court decision, – says the executive director of Ecoclub Andriy Martyniuk.
Environmental impact assessment is an essential procedure before starting projects that may threaten the environment. It aims to assess whether the company plans to exceed pollutants, destroy ecosystems, or endanger human health.
A full and fair environmental impact assessment procedure gives a chance to locals to influence decision-making on the construction of enterprises that could potentially threaten the state of the environment.
We hope that this time the Rivne court will consider the case on the merits, particularly the fact that, despite the expected excess of safe concentrations of pollutants, the company received a positive conclusion on the construction.