Wind Farm Investors Reject Environment Minister's Claims about EIA Process

Sastin-Straze, 12 June (TASR) - Investors behind a planned wind farm in Sastin-Straze have rejected claims by Environment Minister Tomas Taraba that they are complaining about the volume of documentation required under the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The investors pointed out that they are complying with all ministry requirements and that the minister has misrepresented their position. Ivana Rebrova, representing companies SLOWEB and WKS Energia I, told TASR that the firms hadn't objected to the scope of the requested documentation. In a video posted on social media, Taraba said that the ministry will require investors to submit dozens of expert assessments and analyses, including acoustic, vibration and health studies, evaluations of impacts on wildlife, the landscape and public health, risk analyses and 3D visualisations of the project. According to the minister, the investors objected to this approach. "We'll require up to 35 different items from them. They can complain as much as they want," said Taraba. However, the companies said that the minister had confused their position with objections raised by a private individual critical of the project. "This depiction doesn't correspond to the actual course of events," stated Rebrova, adding that, according to information available to the companies, the ministry had dismissed that individual's objections in a decision issued on 4 June, finding them to be without substantive grounds. The firms also rejected suggestions that they were unwilling to meet the conditions of the proceedings. "The project developers are working with great care to meet all professionally relevant requirements and are complying with applicable Slovak standards," said Rebrova. According to the companies, their concerns related instead to the length of the administrative process. They noted that the ministry took approximately one year to decide on an appeal, significantly extending the proceedings. Taraba also stressed that wind farms shouldn't be developed without the consent of local authorities. "No wind farm can be built anywhere without the consent of towns and municipalities, or without the consent of the local people," he said. The minister added that Slovakia doesn't need new wind farms because the country is a net exporter of electricity. mf/df