Sev.en Group Preparing CZK 213 Million in Donation Agreements for Villages in the Most Region

Coal mining company Sev.en Group is drawing up donation agreements for municipalities in the Most region that have been affected by brown coal extraction at the ČSA quarry. According to available information, the sum under discussion is CZK 213 million, which the company has decided to distribute directly, bypassing the State Environmental Fund (SFŽP).

Originally, the firm planned to channel the money through the state fund, but in early August it announced it would decide for itself how to allocate the funds and negotiate directly with villages near the quarry. The company attributed this shift to the sluggishness of the state bureaucracy, which had spent nearly a year failing to agree on the terms of the proposed donation — negotiations with SFŽP, it said, had gone nowhere.

What officials are saying

Environment Minister Igor Červený (of the Motorists party) told reporters in Chižkovice that negotiations are ongoing and that the ministry is working from a scheme prepared by the previous government. "We're trying to make sure the sum for the villages ends up higher than the figure that's been circulating in the media," he said.

What the money will be used for

One village is preparing plans for a new school and kindergarten: the school would accommodate 60 children (two small primary-level classes), and the kindergarten would have 48 places. A multifunctional gymnasium is also planned alongside the school, serving the school itself as well as sports, cultural and community needs — a building permit has already been secured for the project. According to village representative Čapek, the project has been ready for more than a year and is simply waiting for funding: "We should be able to finalize the agreement as early as September. It doesn't matter to us whether the donation comes directly from the mining company or through SFŽP — direct is at least faster. And the amount doesn't matter either: whatever the miners decide to give the region, we'll accept."

The village of Vrskmaň intends to use the funds to build a residential facility combining care services and rental housing, converting a former dilapidated school building — the plan calls for up to 15 new apartments. Vrskmaň's mayor, Václav Hora, said the project documentation is ready and a building permit application has already been filed. "Personally, I prefer this direct method of distributing funds — it's simpler for villages, just a standard donation agreement without the restrictions typical of subsidy programs," he explained, adding that the money could land in the village's account as early as this year. The city of Most has not yet specified how it plans to spend the funds it receives.

A separate project for 11 villages in the Ore Mountains

The coal company is preparing another donation agreement for the association of municipalities in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory) region, which brings together 11 villages also affected by mining at the ČSA quarry but which have not previously received compensation. The funds are earmarked for creating a unified, centrally managed road information and warning system. David Kadner, mayor of the village of Nová Ves v Horách and head of the association, noted that the donation would fully cover a project the municipalities had been unable to co-finance on their own.

He said the system is designed to quickly warn drivers of hazards on narrow mountain roads — fallen trees, accidents, snowdrifts or roadworks — that sometimes leave tourists stuck in traffic jams for hours. Information panels at mountain entry points and key intersections will give advance warning against entering the road. The system will be remotely controllable by the Czech police, Litvínov municipal police, and village mayors.

Brown coal extraction at the ČSA quarry ended in 2024. Instead of technical land reclamation, the Ministry of Environment approved a natural restoration method for the site — part of the area will be left to grow over naturally and part will be flooded, a solution that allowed the Sev.en Group to save on costs.

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Source: ekolist.cz