Liquefied natural gas, radioactive waste and an extensive chemical park – in Brunsbüttel, critical infrastructure is concentrated in a very small space. But as construction of the new LNG terminal progresses, resistance is growing. “The partial approval for the LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel is a security and climate policy risk,” says Sascha Müller-Kraenner from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), which has now filed an objection to the grant by the Schleswig-Holstein State Office for the Environment.
The state office granted approval for a partial construction of the terminal in November. Further partial approvals are still pending. German LNG Terminal GmbH wants to have a permanent terminal there from 2027 handling fossil fuels. By 2043 at the latest, only renewable energies such as hydrogen will be imported via Brunsbüttel.
Together with the “Citizens’ Initiative Against CO2-Repository”, the DUH complains that the state office’s actions are illegal and violate national, European and international climate and environmental law. Instead of examining the project as a whole, as was originally submitted by the operator in the approval process, the state office ensures that the entire project is broken down into sub-projects piecemeal.
“Central security questions are excluded from the approval process or postponed to later steps in the process,” complains Müller-Kraenner. This “salami tactic” undermines “the constitutional approval process and prevents an honest overall assessment,” says Müller-Kraenner.
Criticism of splitting into sub-projects
In the opinion of the DUH and the citizens’ initiative, the fact that safety-related risks are still unclear must be taken into account in the overall assessment. “For the people in Brunsbüttel and the entire Elbe region, it is about concrete security issues and the long-term protection of the environment and health,” says Reinhard Knof, spokesman for the initiative.
For example, there are no binding regulations on adequate protective measures for the control room of the LNG terminal in the event of incidents or third-party interventions. Two years ago we had already Drone overflights over the port area with its decommissioned nuclear power plant, which is used as an interim storage facility, pose a threat.
The climate impacts of ongoing operations are also inadequately taken into account. The division into sub-projects prevents or at least postpones such overall considerations.
Central security issues in the approval process are excluded or postponed to later steps in the process.
Sascha Müller-Kraenner, German Environmental Aid
The state office rejects the accusation of strategically dividing the approval. However, it cites legal requirements: Partial approvals are possible if “the applicant undertakes to carry out dismantling if no approval should be granted in the main matter,” it says in a statement. The state office now wants to examine the objection by the DUH and the citizens’ initiative in peace. A quick assessment of the contradiction is not possible with such serious allegations.
LNG terminal in the nature reserve
Meanwhile, the Wilhelmshaven city council has cleared the way for another permanent LNG terminal: the Belgian company TES wants to a stationary terminal for the transshipment of LNG and CO in the Voslapper Groden Nord nature reserve2 build. On Wednesday, the city council voted to lower protections for the area and change a zoning plan to allow construction of the terminal.
Environmental associations criticize that the construction of the terminal will destroy the Voslapper Groden bird sanctuary and thus the habitat of endangered species. Nabu, BUND and Deutsche Umwelthilfe therefore want to sue against the decision. A councilor has also announced that he will sue because important information on the issue was available too late and a balanced decision was not possible, NDR reported on Thursday.