Public has a ‘right to know’ about environmental impact of nuclear industry in UK, Information Tribunal rules

A tribunal ruling handed down this week has concluded that private companies building and operating nuclear power plants in the UK are public authorities under the environmental information law and are therefore under a duty to provide information about their environmental impact directly to the public.

The ruling results from a refusal by a subsidiary company of energy giant EDF, NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited, to disclose information relating to the aquatic environmental impact of Hinkley Point C nuclear plant to Fish Legal, an environmental organisation acting on behalf of anglers. 

Fish Legal made repeated attempts to access information from NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited – which is part-owned by the French and Chinese states – regarding its decision to exclude a fish deterrent at its new generation nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. They referred the case to the Information Commissioner (ICO), who agreed that the company was a ‘public authority’ as far as the law was concerned and should disclose the information. NNB subsequently appealed to the tribunal.

In a hearing that took place on 13 and 14 May, the Information Rights Tribunal applied legal tests established in previous litigation taken to the European Court of Justice by Fish Legal that led to private water companies in England and Wales being defined as ‘public authorities’ for the purposes of the environmental information regulations.

The tribunal ruling has given the company 35 days to provide the information originally requested in September 2024.

Geoff Hardy, the Fish Legal solicitor who is handling the case said:

“We are obviously delighted that the Court has found in our favour. Fish Legal’s landmark litigation which established that private water companies are subject to environmental information law has been critical for exposing the sewage scandal. Privately-operated nuclear plants will now also be open to public scrutiny, and rightly so.”

Penny Gane, Head of Practice at Fish Legal said:

“This win comes a crucial time.  With the Labour Government set on ripping up key protections for rivers and wildlife as part of their ‘plan for growth’ this Court ruling gives the public the right to know exactly what impact major infrastructure and energy projects will have on species under threat and their habitat.”

She added:

“It’s a win not only for anglers who fear that EDF’s cooling water intake could be the death knell for wild salmon on the Wye, Usk and the Severn, as well as species in the Bristol channel, but also for anyone who cares about transparency and accountability by private, profit-driven utilities”