Environmental impact assessment and the decommissioning of nuclear power plants—a review and suggestion for a best practicable approach

This paper reviews the current legislative and guidance framework for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of projects to decommission nuclear power plants. It considers, in particular, the potential use of EIA as a tool for harmonising relevant consent processes across the European Union member states and accession countries. To this end, a best practicable approach for carrying out EIA for the decommissioning of a nuclear installation, based on consultation with a range of stakeholders across the European Union, is proposed which can both lead to better harmonisation by virtue of its practicability, and prevent unnecessary duplication of effort.The approach has been developed in the context of the legal framework provided by the relevant Directives and takes heed of European Commission guidance on various aspects of environmental assessment. It draws on extensive feedback obtained from a 2-day workshop attended by the range of stakeholders associated with decommissioning activities in 18 countries and the European Commission, and including public representatives.