No environmental impact assessment for LNG terminal
According to the government in Schwerin, there will be no environmental impact assessment for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal planned on the coast of Rügen. There had been doubts at times as to whether such an assessment was necessary. However, talks with the German government and others and a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig had convinced the Ministry of the Environment otherwise, a spokeswoman for the authority told the German Press Agency on Friday.
Most recently, "Der Spiegel" reported on a possible environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a possible delay as a result. The federal government and the project sponsors are aiming for the terminal to go online next winter. The federal government refers to the security of energy supply. Critics speak of unneeded overcapacity.
The LNG Acceleration Act (LNGG) makes it possible to dispense with an EIA in the interests of security of supply. The spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment in Schwerin said that her ministry had occasionally had doubts as to whether the underlying gas shortage still existed. However, the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Network Agency had stated that such a shortage was still assumed.
In addition, the Federal Administrative Court rejected an urgent application by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) against a section of the connecting pipeline for the terminal, confirmed the gas shortage and thus the applicability of LNGG and therefore also the waiver of an EIA.
Despite the ongoing debates about potential environmental impacts, the federal government and project sponsors continue to push for the LNG terminal's operation next winter, emphasizing energy security needs. The terminal's operation relies on the exemption from a mandatory environmental impact assessment, granted under the LNG Acceleration Act, due to continued assumptions of a gas shortage by the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Network Agency.
Source: www.dpa.com
