The Supreme Administrative Court ruled about the confidentiality of the structures of a MAR plant

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the location and technical details of the observation wells and the pumping wells of a MAR plant are confidential

With its decision KHO 2024:70 the Supreme Administrative Court ruled about the confidentiality of the observation wells and pumping wells of a MAR plant. The Supreme Administrative Court stated that the MAR plants are vital for the water supply of communities and disturbing their functioning even in slightly can cause severe harm to public health and the economy. The pumping wells and the observation wells can be protected with various safety measures but planning and implementing the harming of the structures becomes easier if the location information and the technical information are publicly available. Thus, the question is about compromising the general safety if the information is published.

The Supreme Administrative Court also assessed the impacts of confidentiality considering the Aarhus Convention and directive on public access to environmental information, and it concluded that they do not prevent concealing the location information. Additionally, the fact that confidential information has been public before, at least partially, does not affect the publicity status of the document when the document is asked from the authorities. As a conclusion, the locations and technical details of observation wells and pumping wells of a MAR plant are confidential as they are connected to the safety measures of the plant.