The úrskurðarnefnd umhverfis- og auðlindamála (Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Committee) has annulled the permit granted to Landsvirkjun to expand Sigölduvirkjun.
The permit to expand Sigölduvirkjun has been annulled following a complaint by the environmental organisation Náttúrugrið, as the impact of the expansion on water quality had not been assessed in the environmental impact assessment.
Sigölduvirkjun is is an electric generating plant located in the southern Highlands of Iceland near Þórisvatn, just above Hrauneyjafossstöð, to the south of Þórisvatn.
National power company Landsvirkjun received a permit from Ásahreppur municipality in February to expand the station from 150 megawatts to 215 megawatts.
Náttúrugrið appealed the construction permit to the úrskurðarnefnd umhverfis- og auðlindamála (Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Committee), which has accepted the organisation’s reasoning and annulled the permit.
Snæbjörn Guðmundsson, chair of Náttúrugriða, welcomes the result and says it is precedent setting.
The ruling of the appeals committee is based on the fact that in its handling of the case, Landsvirkjun and the authorities, in the environmental impact assessment of the expansion, had not assessed the impacts of the works on water quality.
The condition of the water had not been assessed before the project, the condition of the water bodies themselves had not been evaluated… In short this is a landmark ruling in Icelandic public administration, where there is a clear conclusion that in an environmental impact assessment one cannot avoid the provisions of the Water Management Act.
For large projects such as power plants, groundwater extraction and road construction where fjords are crossed, it is necessary to pay closer attention to this before permits are issued.
This is the precedent that comes with this ruling, that public and environmental organisations are being given a stronger right to have their say on the impacts of projects on nature and the environment.
The ruling also faults the expert opinion prepared by the Hafrannsóknarstofnun (Marine and Freshwater Research Institute) for Landsvirkjun, for not being in accordance with the law regarding the classification of “water bodies”. The stance of the Umhverfisstofnun (Environment Agency of Iceland) was also unclear in that respect.
Source: Ruv.is
