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Cases / Wind, hydro and other renewables · Turkey · 2011–2020

Court annuls environmental approval for Loç Valley hydropower plant a second time

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

A court in Kastamonu annulled for a second time the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for a hydropower plant in Loç Valley, Cide, Bianet reported in April 2020. The sources reviewed say little about the stream itself.

What?
A court annulled for a second time the EIA approval for the Loç Valley hydropower plant, Bianet reported in April 2020. Bianet
Where?
Loç Valley in Cide, Kastamonu, Turkey Bianet
When?
EIA approval annulled in 2011, and again in April 2020. Bianet
Who?
Gained
  • The company behind the Loç Valley hydropower plant (not named in the sources reviewed) — EIA approval for the plant, until it was annulled
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • 117 villagers — On trial since 2012, according to records reviewed (no link given)
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The Kastamonu Administrative Court annulled the approval, relying on an expert report. Bianet
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Bianet reported on 5 April 2020 that the Kastamonu Administrative Court had annulled, for the second time, the EIA approval for a hydropower plant in Loç Valley, relying on an expert report.

Records reviewed, with no link given, say the EIA approval was annulled in 2011 and 2020, and that the Council of State rejected the company's objection.

Records reviewed, with no link given, say 117 villagers have been on trial since 2012.

A former minister said in 2014 that hydropower plants do not consume any water; no link is given for the statement.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2020Outcome not on record
      Second annulment of the Loç Valley EIA approval
      Kastamonu Administrative Court · Administrative · Not named in the sources reviewed → Not named in the sources reviewed

      The court annulled the EIA approval for a second time, relying on an expert report, Bianet reported. The sources give conflicting accounts of the Council of State's handling of the earlier annulment. Bianet

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    • Unclear Second annulment of the Loç Valley EIA approval: outcome not on record.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Council of State overturned the first annulment. Another record says it rejected the company's objection. The two accounts are not reconciled.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the company, the plant's capacity, or whether the plant is operating.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not describe the stream's flow or condition at Loç Valley.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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