Polish coal mine sparks global dispute
Nearby villages beset by water shortages, pollution
UHELNA, Czech Republic — Polluted air, noise, dry wells.
The Turow lignite coal mine in Poland is causing trouble for the environment and local communities — even in Germany and Czech Republic, whose border is just a short walk away. Plans to further expand the huge open pit mine have caused alarm among residents who fear things might get even worse.
With Poland set to remain heavily reliant on coal for energy, the state-controlled PGE utility is aiming to extend until 2044 its license to mine in Turow, due to expire in March.
The move has spawned a rare diplomatic dispute with the Czech government, a longtime ally. And it comes in the face of the United Nation’s call to cut greenhouse gas emissions immediately and sharply.
“What they do is horrible,” said Milan Starec from the tiny Czech village of Uhelna. The village is 1.2 miles from the mine, but that distance would be almost halved if the mine is expanded. And a piece of land with a forest that currently forms a natural barrier and keeps the mine out of sight would disappear.
“From a human point of view, there’s no place whatsoever for (the mine) here. It should end,” said Starec.
Lignite, a low-grade form of coal, is a fossil fuel that produces large amounts of the greenhouse gases that are warming the atmosphere. Scientists say coal use has to end by 2050 to curb global warming.
Most of the lignite is burned in the Turow power plant located next to the mine. The plant ranked as the 19th-biggest carbon dioxide emitter in the EU last year and as the 10th-worst coal EU plant for its impact on human health in 2017, according to the Europe Beyond Coal environmental group.
The rest is sold to households and businesses, contributing to a thick smog in the nearby Polish town of Bogatynia.
The mine is set to increase its surface area to 11.7 square miles and would extend to just 230 feet from the Czech border. The bottom will be 1,083 feet below the surrounding surface.
One big worry is that expanding the mine is expected to drain away ground water, depriving Uhelna and other communities.
A Czech study suggests that the Polish plan would put at risk water supplies for some 30,000 people.