Pavel Weighs in on ČSA Quarry Funds Dispute: The State Should Decide the Split

Czech President Petr Pavel has said that money saved through changes to the reclamation plan for the ČSA coal quarry should be distributed by the Ministry of the Environment among all municipalities in the region — not just those chosen by mining company Sev.en. He made the remarks on Wednesday afternoon in Rýžovna near Boží Dar, during a two-day tour of northwestern Bohemia.

In doing so, the president backed the position the Ministry of the Environment has been defending for several weeks. The ministry insists on the original plan, under which the funds would be distributed by the state through the State Environmental Fund. However, in early August, Sev.en abandoned that arrangement and began negotiating directly with municipalities over how the money should be divided.

Sev.en Proposes Splitting 213 Million Crowns

According to the mining company, the sum in question is 213 million crowns. Under the proposal made public so far, the towns of Most, Vrskmaň and Vysoká Pec would each receive 50 million crowns, while 30 million crowns would go to the association of municipalities in the Krušné hory (Ore Mountains) region, and 20 million to the Ústí Region. The fate of the remaining 13 million crowns has yet to be decided — the company has not named a specific recipient. Sev.en intends to pay out the funds no later than the end of November.

According to the company, changing the method of land reclamation resulted in total savings of 470 million crowns. However, Sev.en argues that part of this sum is tied up in corporate income tax and in the cost of land plots the state will need for natural regeneration of the site. That is why the company describes the remaining 213 million crowns as the amount it is prepared to put toward the region.

The State Insists on the Original Scheme

The plan originally called for the funds to be distributed through the State Environmental Fund. This summer, however, Sev.en announced it was abandoning that scheme. Among its reasons, the company cited the fact that the state had failed to respond for nearly a year regarding the terms of the planned donation. The Ministry of the Environment, for its part, maintains that the money should be distributed according to the original agreement and continues to negotiate with the company over a possible increase in the total sum.

Other institutions have since joined the dispute. The situation surrounding the reclamation of brown coal quarries is also being examined by the National Organized Crime Agency. Police have not yet released details of the investigation.

At the heart of the dispute is a revised reclamation plan for part of the ČSA quarry. Rather than the originally planned technical restoration, part of the site has been designated for natural regeneration — so-called succession. This change allowed mining company Severní energetická to reduce the mandatory financial reserve set aside for reclamation.

Source: novinky.cz