Shaft Konrad - Application rejected: conversion to a repository continues
The controversial nuclear waste repository Schacht Konrad in Salzgitter can continue to be built - at least for the time being. The applications to withdraw or revoke the plans and the demand to stop further construction work have been rejected for the time being. This was announced by the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment in Hanover on Tuesday. It was the result of a purely legal examination, said Minister Christian Meyer. "This does not change our critical stance on the repository," said the Green politician.
"Politically, we consider the decision to be wrong," said Meyer, referring to the approval for the repository from May 2002. According to the minister, however, it was only possible to check whether any significant changes had occurred in the meantime that would allow the decision to be reversed. At least for the time being, the reasons for this were not sufficient, said Meyer after a meeting with the applicants.
Schacht Konrad in Salzgitter is a disused iron ore mine in which up to 303,000 cubic meters of low and medium-level radioactive waste is to be stored. It is the first repository for this waste in Germany to be approved under nuclear law. In recent months, it has become known that completion is around two years behind schedule and that the estimated costs will have increased by around one billion euros by then.
A broad alliance had already applied for the planning approval decision to be revoked or withdrawn in 2021. Critics complained that the planned repository did not meet current scientific and technical requirements. Important aspects such as retrievability and long-term safety had not been taken into account or had not been considered at all. Critics include the nature conservation organizations Nabu and BUND, the city of Salzgitter, the IG Metall trade union and the state farmers' association Landvolk.
Minister Meyer pointed out that a further repository for low and medium-level radioactive materials was needed, particularly with regard to the retrieval of waste from the Asse nuclear waste repository, which was full of water, and with regard to waste from the dismantling of nuclear power plants. Lower Saxony is urging the federal government to take this aspect into account in the nationwide search for a nuclear waste repository for high-level radioactive waste.
Following the provisional decision, the applicants can now submit a statement within an eight-week hearing period, according to the ministry. The decision opens up the legal process. The alliance of critics expressed their disappointment and announced that they would examine further legal steps. Salzgitter's Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel (CDU) announced that he was prepared for this.
"Schacht Konrad is and remains unsuitable as a storage facility for low- and medium-level nuclear waste," said a joint statement by Nabu and BUND. The planned procedure is irresponsible towards future generations. "The red-green state government is accepting an inferior repository in order to spare the federal government a new search for a site," said Victor Perli, the Left Party member of parliament for the Salzgitter-Wolfenbüttel constituency affected.
Minister Meyer promised that the current rejection would not result in a commitment for the future. He emphasized that the plans would have to be constantly reviewed and adapted when reviewing the safety requirements of the repository. "We will take a very close look at safety," said Meyer.
According to the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), the facility must always be kept at the current safety level from a technical perspective. This must be guaranteed by the Federal Company for Final Disposal (BGE) as the operator, the authority stated. "As the nuclear supervisory authority, BASE has no indications of safety deficits at Schacht Konrad," said the president of the authority, Wolfram König.
"A final repository is an undeniable burden for the people affected," said Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke after the decision. However, Konrad is not only of central importance for the final disposal of low and medium-level radioactive waste in Germany, it is also a robust and safe repository, said the Green politician.
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- The rejection of the application to withdraw plans for Shaft Konrad does not change Minister Christian Meyer's critical stance, as he stated in Hanover, the location of the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment.
- The Nature Conservation Association Germany, along with other critics such as Nabu and BUND, has expressed disappointment with the decision to continue building the repository in Salzgitter's Schacht Konrad.
- Lower Saxony relies on the completion of Schacht Konrad, a nuclear waste repository for low and medium-level radioactive waste, to facilitate the retrieval of waste from the Asse nuclear waste repository and from dismantled nuclear power plants.
- The Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMU) has emphasized the importance of Schacht Konrad, characterizing it as a robust and safe repository for low and medium-level radioactive waste in Germany.
- The Alliance for the Future of Salzgitter, which had previously applied to revoke the planning approval decision, announced their intent to explore further legal steps following the rejection of their application.
- The Federal Government is currently searching for a nuclear waste repository for high-level radioactive waste and is urging Lower Saxony to consider the need for an additional repository in their search.
- The operation of the Schacht Konrad facility is the responsibility of the Federal Company for Final Disposal (BGE), which is tasked with ensuring the facility remains at the current safety level from a technical perspective.
- Salzgitter's Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel has expressed his readiness to address any future legal steps in response to the provisional decision regarding the Schacht Konrad nuclear waste repository.
Source: www.stern.de
