MASE, the Strategic Environmental Assessment procedure for the siting of the National Repository
28 November 2024
The Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) announced the start of the scoping phase on its website, as envisaged by the Strategic Environmental Assessment procedure on the proposed National Map of Suitable Areas (Carta Nazionale delle Aree Idonee, CNAI) to host the National Radioactive Waste Repository and Technology Park.
A list of 51 suitable areas for the CNAI proposal was published on the MASE website on 13 December 2023. As stipulated under Italian Legislative Decree no. 31/2010 and subsequent amendments, the CNAI was drafted by Sogin on the basis of observations that emerged after extensive public consultation that included the National Seminar, which took place after the National Map of Potentially Suitable Areas (Carta Nazionale delle Aree Potenzialmente Idonee, CNAPI) was published. The CNAI was approved by the National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ISIN).
In the press release, Minister Pichetto Fratin stated that “conducting the VAS procedure on the process for the siting of the National Repository aims to ensure a high level of environmental protection by contributing to the integration of environmental considerations when drafting, adopting and approving the CNAI. In this way, we offer local administrations the possibility of once again participating in the decision-making process before the Map is approved".
Press release available on the website of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE)