Cleanup of Chemical Contamination in Šumava Handed to the Army — Babiš Awaits Results from Defence Minister

A chemically contaminated site in the Šumava National Park, where Environment Minister Igor Červený says 200 barrels of hazardous substances and roughly a thousand tonnes of contaminated soil have been found, will be cleaned up by the Czech Army. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced this at a press conference on Monday following a cabinet meeting.

"The government has decided that the contract will go to our army. At least we'll see just how combat-ready and capable our army really is," the prime minister said. He added that the Czechs are known for having a strong chemical corps, and admitted he was "eagerly awaiting action from Defence Minister Jaroslav Zůna." The editorial team is still seeking comment from the army itself.

According to the Environment Ministry's plans, the remediation work is due to begin as early as 21 September and run until June 2028. The state has earmarked 192 million koruna for the project.

Why Dekonta Was Passed Over

Minister Červený had originally proposed awarding the contract on an accelerated basis, bypassing the standard tender process, to the company Dekonta — the same firm that previously surveyed the site and itself recommended that remediation be carried out. The cabinet, however, rejected this proposal.

Babiš then instructed the Finance Ministry to identify alternative companies capable of handling the cleanup, and the government ultimately settled on bringing in the army instead.

Červený had earlier explained that he had pushed for the expedited procedure specifically because of the urgency indicated by additional surveys: under the standard procedure, he said, remediation realistically could not have begun until spring next year, during which time toxic substances would have continued leaching into the soil. He also noted that the ministry has long worked with Dekonta, and that it is the only company holding a permit from the State Institute of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection to handle particularly hazardous substances.

Last week it emerged that 7.5% of Dekonta Holding, the parent company of Dekonta, is owned by Klára Sojová, the Motoristé candidate for Prague mayor. From 2021 until June 2026 she sat on Dekonta Holding's supervisory board, and before that served directly on the company's board of directors. Both Sojová and Minister Červený deny any conflict of interest in the matter, and the company's management has likewise denied any political connection.

Former Minister Calls the Decision Logical

Červený's announcement about the discovery of the barrels of chemicals triggered a public spat between the current minister and his predecessor, Petr Hladík of KDU-ČSL. Červený accused the previous ministry leadership of having known about the contamination for a long time without taking any action. Hladík, for his part, claimed the minister had deliberately exaggerated the scale of the problem in order to justify bypassing the standard tender process.

Hladík called handing the contract to the army a logical move. "The army should certainly be the one paying for this, since this is old contamination left behind by the army itself. Whether it has the capacity to handle the job, I won't venture to judge," he said.

In his view, the army will still need to bring in subcontractors: at the very least, the contaminated soil will need to be disposed of through standard methods — at hazardous waste incineration plants — meaning private companies will inevitably be involved in the process regardless. "But it doesn't have to be Dekonta," Hladík stressed.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz