“We have known for over two years that… disaster the Odra was caused by saline sewage poured into the rivers from Silesian mines. The authorities, despite this knowledge and the possibilities available to state institutions, did nothing about this matter. Certainly nothing that would lead to a reduction in the amount of salt that ends up in Polish rivers,” said the organization's spokeswoman, Katarzyna Bilewska. That's why reason ten people operating in Polish Greenpeace filed a complaint to European Commission regarding the violation of EU law regarding the protection of Polish rivers.
99 percent Polish rivers are in poor condition. Activists took action
The decision to submit a complaint to the European Commission was influenced by information from monitoring by state institutions – including: Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection – that 99 percent of Polish rivers are currently in poor condition. The complaint included an allegation of violating EU law by granting a group of Silesian mines permits to discharge mine water into rivers in violation of the provisions of the Water Framework Directive.
According to the representatives of the organization, filing an accusation is the only way for the Polish authorities to look into the implementation of the provisions of the Water Directive and address the issue of discharges of saline sewage into the Oder and Wisła.
The decision rests in the hands of the European Commission. According to activists, EU law was violated
“The aim of the Water Framework Directive is to achieve good water status. EU countries should refuse to consent to investments that threaten the achievement of this target status. There are certain exceptions to this rule and some investments, even though they will have a negative impact on rivers, may be allowed to be implemented . However, mines are not among such investments! They do not fall within the conditions of derogations specified in the directive. When the Polish authorities gave consent to the mines to discharge sewage into rivers, in our opinion they violated EU law,” added Dominika Bobek, legal advisor at Frank Bold. In message Greenpeace.
The EC can now take actions that will oblige the authorities to put an end to the violations mentioned. The Commission will then also have the opportunity to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Interestingly, it already used this tool in 2023, after Polish activists complained about insufficient forest protection.