Nov. 27, 2007
Plans to build a coal-burning, 884-megawatt power plant in the southeast Slovakian town of Trebisov (Toketerebes), 20 kilometres from the Hungarian border, are raising environmental concerns — especially in Hungary's Tokaj region.
The brownfield investment envisages plant construction on the site of a former sugar factory, and a university study undertaken on behalf of the project's unnamed Czech investor concluded that the plant's 163-metre high smokestacks could emit up to 4 million tonnes of pollution annually, according to Hungarian daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet.
Peter Szamosvolgyi, mayor of the north-eastern Hungarian city of Satoralajujhely, alleged in a letter sent to various government officials that the prevailing winds at the proposed project site practically guarantee that a majority of pollution from the plant would be concentrated in Tokaj — Hungary's most famous wine-growing region and a World Heritage site — which, in addition to creating health problems for the local population, could also undermine the region's viticulture and tourism-based economy. He also warned of harm that could come to several rare species located in Hungary's Bukk National Park. These fears are justified, according to the Hungarian branch of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites).
Peter Kiss from the Hungarian Office of the Prime Minister replied to Szamosvolgyi that permission for plant construction was granted in January 2007, but added that the Slovak government failed to notify Hungarian officials, thereby violating the Espoo Agreement, which requires elaboration of an international feasibility study regarding transboundary environmental issues.
Should the Slovakian government defy environmental warnings and popular opposition by proceeding with plant construction, Hungary is seemingly in a position to garner enthusiastic legal support from within the EU.
