Highlights 

• Zgierz is set to receive funding of over PLN 11 million from the National Reconstruction Plan (NRP). The Zgierz Task Force for Large-Scale Degraded Areas has already presented the results of its environmental studies.
• Zgierz is performing a comprehensive environmental assessment and drawing up a draft plan to improve environmental conditions in the identified large-scale degraded area – the site of the former ‘Boruta’ Dye Industry Works in Zgierz. It will receive PLN 11 million from the National Reconstruction Plan for this purpose.
• The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management has launched a supplementary programme which allows for the financing of VAT for projects on large-scale degraded areas financed from the National Reconstruction Plan. 
• The former ‘Boruta’ Dye Industry Works in Zgierz were once Poland’s largest textile dye manufacturing plant, operating since 1894. They were privatised in the early 1990s. The site contains three storage or accumulation sites for post-production waste, including hazardous waste, resulting from the plant’s operations. 
• The Act on Sites Requiring Urgent Remediation covers five sites deemed to require urgent intervention to safeguard human life and health and the state of the environment, including the site of the ‘Boruta’ Dye Industry Works in Zgierz. 
• Under the Act on Contaminated Sites, local authorities are obliged, subject to the availability of adequate financial resources, to conduct a detailed investigation and assessment of the contamination present at such sites, and subsequently to secure or manage the historical waste and mitigate its impact on the environment and human health. 

Zgierz is facing an exceptionally difficult problem. Its roots lie in the town’s industrial history, including dye production technology and the long-standing operation of chemical plants. For decades, waste and pollution were generated here, the effects of which did not disappear with the end of industrial activity. They remain in the ground, in landfill sites, posing risks to groundwater and surface water, as well as fuelling residents’ concerns

– said Deputy Minister Anita Sowińska. 

She emphasised that further action would be based on reliable research, a sound assessment and a responsible remediation plan. She pointed out that these efforts had been initiated by the residents of Zgierz, local organisations, academic institutions, the local council, the media and members of parliament. 

For me personally, this issue has long been very important. Even whilst I was an MP, I tabled parliamentary questions on this matter right at the start of my term of office — in January and February 2020. It was also particularly significant to me because I worked on the site of the former Boruta plant for over a dozen years and had the opportunity to speak with former employees of the chemical plant. This experience gives me a better understanding that behind every decision there are real people, with their own stories, fears and expectations

– added Deputy Minister Anita Sowińska. 

During a meeting at Zgierz Town Hall, experts presented the results of a comprehensive assessment of the state of the environment, based on samples taken, laboratory tests performed and data analysis. The report is of crucial importance for future decisions – identifying the most effective, safest and feasible solutions. 

The next stage will be to draw up a remediation plan for the large-scale degraded site. According to the timetable, this plan must be submitted by the end of this year at the latest. Subsequently, further measures will be taken to prevent the chemicals present on the site from spreading into groundwater and surface waters, including the River Bzura. Further funding will be required for the subsequent stages to provide a sustainable solution to the problem of the site of the former ‘Boruta’ Dye Works.