Constitutional Court to address complaint about Czech-Polish agreement on Turow mine

The Constitutional Court is to address a complaint regarding the agreement between the governments of the Czech Republic and Poland aimed at mitigating the impacts of mining activities at the Turów brown coal mine near the Czech border.

The complaint was filed by the locals of Uhelná, a village on the Czech side of the border, who claim that the agreement fails to protect them from adverse effects of mining activity in their close vicinity. The negative effects include water and air pollution and the municipality argues that the conditions of the agreement signed will moreover make it impossible to exercise proper protection in the future.

After months of disputes, the two countries’ governments signed an agreement in February of this year on 45 million euros in compensation for damages caused to the Czech Republic, and guarantees that an underground barrier would be erected to protect water sources on the Czech side of the border.