GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA RESOLUTION No 573 of 8 May 2003 ON THE APPROVAL OF THE DIRECTIONS FOR MITIGATING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLOSURE OF UNIT 1 AND UNIT 2 OF THE STATE ENTERPRISE IGNALINA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Vilnius Acting pursuant to Article 8 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Regional Development (Valstybės Žinios (Official Gazette) No 66-1987, 2000; No 123-5558, 2002) and the National Energy Strategy approved by Resolution No IX-1130 of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 10 October 2002 (Valstybės Žinios (Official Gazette) No 99-4397, 2002), the Government of the Republic of Lithuania h a s r e s o l v e d: 1. To approve the Directions for Mitigating the Consequences of the Closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (appended). 2. To charge the Ministry of Economy with the following tasks: 2.1. envisaging measures for the modernisation of the energy sector upon closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, to be incorporated in the National Energy Strategy implementation plan which is under preparation; 2.2. drafting, by 15 November 2004, a programme for the decommissioning of Unit 2 of the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant and submitting it to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for approval. 3. The Governor of Utena County shall draft a development plan of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Region and submit it to the Development Council of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Region for approval. 4. To charge the Ministry of Finance, while drafting the Single Programming Document for 2004-2006, with making proposals, by 1 July 2003, to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania regarding financing terms and procedures for the projects of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Region. 5. To repeal Resolution No 1085 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 10 July 2002 on the Programme for Mitigating the Consequences of the Closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant for 2003-2006 and Preparation of the Directions of this Activity after 2006 (Valstybės Žinios (Official Gazette) No 72-3033, 2002). Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas Minister of Economy Petras Čėsna ________________ APPROVED by Resolution No 573 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 8 May 2003 DIRECTIONS FOR MITIGATING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLOSURE OF UNIT 1 AND UNIT 2 OF THE STATE ENTERPRISE IGNALINA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT I. GENERAL PROVISIONS 1. Lithuania has inherited a large and modern energy infrastructure, which was designed to satisfy the needs of a much wider region. The country has a modern natural gas supply and distribution network, a large and quite modern oil refinery, and several large electricity generation companies, including the state enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (hereinafter referred to as “the Ignalina NPP”) with two RBMK-1500 nuclear reactors. Today, the Ignalina NPP generates up to 80 of the total volume of electricity consumed in the country. The Ignalina NPP region has a population of around 80 thousand people who depend on the Ignalina NPP for their livelihood. 2. The National Energy Strategy approved by Resolution No IX-1130 of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 10 October 2002 (Valstybės Žinios (Official Gazette) No 99-4397, 2002) provides that Unit 1 of the Ignalina NPP will be closed before 2005, and Unit 2 in 2009. 3. Closure of the Ignalina NPP will cause a number of problems that will call for immediate action with the view to ensuring nuclear safety, security of electricity supply, quality of the atmosphere, and adequate standard of living in the Ignalina NPP region. These problems will be solved by drawing on the European Union special support funds as well as the European Union structural funds and the Cohesion Fund. II. MITIGATION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLOSURE OF UNIT 1 AND UNIT 2 OF THE IGNALINA NPP 4. The following shall be set as the directions for mitigating the consequences of the closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Ignalina NPP: 4.1. clearing-up of the Ignalina NPP upon termination of electricity generation, and adaptation of its territory to suit other needs; 4.2. modernisation of the energy sector upon closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Ignalina NPP; 4.3. development of the Ignalina NPP region. III. CLEARING-UP OF THE IGNALINA NPP UPON TERMINATION OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION, AND ADAPTATION OF ITS TERRITORY TO SUIT OTHER NEEDS 5. Goals: 5.1. to ensure safe operation of the Ignalina NPP in preparation for the decommissioning and dismantling; 5.2. to ensure proper treatment and preparation for long-term storage and disposal of radioactive waste built up during operation of the Ignalina NPP and as a result of its decommissioning; 5.3. to ensure a long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. 6. Objectives: 6.1. to draft all necessary planning documents for the decommissioning of the Ignalina NPP and draw up safety requirements necessary to obtain a licence for the decommissioning; 6.2. to ensure an adequate number of staff and their qualifications so as to ensure a safe decommissioning; 6.3. to assess the impact on the environment and conduct environmental monitoring; 6.4. to prepare for management, storage and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; 6.5. to install radioactive waste treatment equipment, storage facilities and repositories; 6.6. to remove spent nuclear fuel from reactors and transport it to storage facilities; 6.7. to dismantle redundant equipment, demolish redundant structures, and regenerate the territory; 6.8. to manage radioactive waste. IV. MODERNISATION OF THE ENERGY SECTOR UPON CLOSURE OF UNIT 1 AND UNIT 2 OF THE IGNALINA NPP 7. Goals: 7.1. to ensure security of electricity supply; 7.2. to ensure adequate quality of the atmosphere. 8. Objectives: 8.1. to ensure that other power plants of Lithuania are capable of compensating for the loss of electricity upon termination of electricity generation by the Ignalina NPP; 8.2. to ensure that environmental projects are implemented in thermal power plants and that releases of pollutants into the environment are kept within limits set in legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania; 8.3. to encourage the use of indigenous, renewable and waste energy resources; 8.4. to ensure financing of those projects which are ranked as priorities under state aid schemes that are in line with the provisions of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Union and related documents; 8.5. to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as other international commitments of the Republic of Lithuania in the field of ambient air protection. V. DEVELOPMENT OF THE IGNALINA NPP REGION 9. The goal is to regenerate the Ignalina NPP region both socially and economically and to ensure the creation of new jobs in the region and its sustainable development. 10. Objectives: 10.1. to create favourable conditions for sustainable social and economic development in the Ignalina NPP region; 10.2. to create favourable conditions for investments in the Ignalina NPP region; 10.3. to draw up and implement special schemes of state aid for the Ignalina NPP region; 10.4. to enhance administrative capacities of competent administrative institutions and bodies of the Ignalina NPP region; 10.5. to draw up and implement an employment strategy for the Ignalina NPP region. –––––––––––––––– .