Environmental impact assessment of the postponement of the deactivation of the nuclear reactors of Doel 4 and Tihange 3

Context of the Consultation

On 1 April 2022, the federal government of Belgium approved a preliminary draft law amending the law of 31 January 2003 on the gradual exit from nuclear energy for industrial electricity production. 

This preliminary draft law aims to authorise the activation of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors for a further 10 years, and this after taking into account the results of the environmental impact assessment, public consultation, consultation of the concerned authorities and transboundary consultations within the meaning of Directive 2011/92/EU of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 2009/147/EC of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds, in accordance with the judgment with reference 34/2020 of the Constitutional Court of 5 March 2020.

The project plays a vital role in safeguarding the country's electricity security, also the project is in line with the policy the European Commission wishes to pursue for increased independence from fossil fuels and diversified energy supply.

Documentation on the Environmental Impact Assessment "Extension of the lifetime of Doel 4 and Tihange 3"

The environmental impact report is available in French, Dutch and German, as well as a courtesy translation in English (PDF, 545.28 KB). The non-technical summary is available in French, Dutch, German and English.

• Évaluation environnementale du report de la désactivation de Doel 4 et Tihange 3 (PDF, 14.57 MB) (FR)
• Non-technical summary (PDF, 871.52 KB)

A clarification note on the impacts of nitrogen (PDF, 939.37 KB) was provided by independent experts following opinion 75.109/16 from the Council of State.

Public Consultation

From March 20 to May 20, 2023, any natural or legal person was able to participate in a public consultation on the entire environmental impact assessment file concerning the postponement of the deactivation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3.

People were able to submit their comments via mail, via the online form and via the competent authorities.

All of the responses recorded on the dedicated site as well as the responses sent directly to the FPS Economy as part of this public survey were analysed. You can consult the details of the analysis in the document “Public and cross-border consultation concerning the postponement of the deactivation of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power plants (PDF, 8.52 MB)" (FR).

Opinion of concerned national authorities

Regional authorities

• Avis de Bruxelles Environnement (PDF, 1.15 MB)
• Avis de la Région wallonne (PDF, 792.58 KB)
• Advies van de Vlaamse overheid (PDF, 338.81 KB)

Local authorities

• Opinion from various municipalities (PDF, 4.87 MB)

Environmental Authorities

• Avis de l’Agence fédérale de contrôle nucléaire (AFCN) (PDF, 324.79 KB)
• Avis de l’Organisme national des déchets radioactifs et des matières fissiles enrichies (ONDRAF) (PDF, 2.13 MB)

Transboundary notifications

On 20 March 2023, countries within a 1000 km radius of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors were notified of the environmental impact assessment as part of the project of the postponement of the deactivation of these reactors.

You can consult the institutional reactions communicated by the countries. Note that personal data and reactions from individuals have been removed from these documents.

Germany

• reactions of the German authorities (PDF, 5.65 MB)
• reactions of the German NGO (PDF, 2.14 MB)

Austria

• dialogue with Austria (PDF, 584.88 KB)
• reactions of the Austrian authorities (PDF, 3.4 MB)
• reactions of the Austrian NGO (PDF, 1.41 MB)

Denmark

• reactions of the Danish authorities (PDF, 714.38 KB)

Hungary

• reactions of the Hungarian authorities (PDF, 516.26 KB)

Ireland

• reactions of the Irish authorities (PDF, 1.19 MB)
• reactions of the Irish NGO (PDF, 43.39 KB)

Luxembourg

• reactions of the Luxembourgian authorities (PDF, 3.82 MB)
• reactions of the Luxembourgian NGO (PDF, 4.83 MB)

Norway

• reactions of the Norwegian Authorities (PDF, 71.39 KB)

The Netherlands

• reactions of the Dutch Authorities (PDF, 372.17 KB)
• reactions of the Dutch NGO (PDF, 1.1 MB)

Poland

• reactions of the Polish Authorities (PDF, 761.44 KB)
• reactions of the Polish NGO (PDF, 1.17 MB)

Czechia

• reactions of the Czech Authorities (PDF, 114.28 KB)

Sweden

• reactions of the Swedish authorities (PDF, 338.49 KB)

Legislative modifications

On 26 February 2024, the Minister of Energy filed a draft law in the Chamber of Representatives with a view of amending the law of 31 January 2003 on the gradual exit from nuclear energy for the purpose of industrial production of electricity. The draft law resulted from the study of the environmental impact assessment as part of the project of the postponement of the deactivation of these reactors, the public consultation, the opinions of the  concerned national authorities and the transboundary notifications.

Annexed to this bill is a document “Assessment of environmental impacts and reasoned conclusion in the context of the adoption of a law amending the law of January 31, 2003 on the gradual phase-out of nuclear energy in for the purposes of industrial electricity production”. This document summarizes the environmental procedure prior to the approval of an environmental project.

On 26 April 2024, the law amending the law of 31 January 2003 was approved.

Parliamentary discussions relating to the approval of this law are available on the website of the Chamber of Representatives.