Announcement - site selection

On 28 June 2017, Ursula Heinen-Esser, Chair of BGE Management reported to the Environmental Committee of the German Bundestag about the current status of implementation of the site selection procedure. In its role as project manager, the BGE has the task of seeking a location with the best possible safety prerequisites for the final storage of highly radioactive waste created in Germany. Heinen-Esser explained the next steps for the start of the site selection procedure. First, geological search areas will be identified in Germany on the basis of the geoscientific exclusion criteria and minimum requirements set out in the site selection legislation. The BGE will promptly write to all geological regional authorities to find out further information about the nature of the subsoil. Additional information will also be requested from private institutions. She also reported that in accordance with the legally specified task and the recommendations of the Final Repository Commission, the BGE is itself to be developed from the start into an investigative and learning organisation. One element in the achievement of this target is for example the establishment of a group of scientific experts.