Court postpones verdict on controversial Turów opencast mine

The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw has postponed its verdict in the case of the controversial Turów opencast mine to March 13. The reason given was the illness of a judge, the city of Zittau announced on Wednesday. The background to the proceedings is a complaint by the town of Zittau in the border triangle of Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. Zittau is contesting the environmental impact assessment for the planned expansion of the open-cast mine. It is located near Zittau on Polish territory.

According to a study, Zittau could sink up to one meter due to the continuation of the open-cast mine along the Neisse river. The city argues that concerns about groundwater, particulate matter and noise pollution were not taken into account in the environmental impact assessment during the approval process in Poland. The remediation of the remaining hole after the end of coal mining was not taken into account. "There are rules that must be observed. And one of them is: you don't harm your neighbor," Zittau's mayor Thomas Zenker (non-party) had said at the time in connection with the lawsuit.

The expansion plans had also caused tensions between the Czech Republic and Poland. The Czech Republic had initially taken the plans for Turów to the European Court of Justice. In February 2022, an agreement was surprisingly reached between the two countries.