Press Release No. 11/22 – Have your say on the construction of the waste treatment plant and interim storage facility for Asse retrieval

The waste treatment plant and interim storage facility near the Asse II mine have been the subject of controversy for some time. As part of an early public participation process, the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) now wants to enter into dialogue with the general public regarding what these industrial facilities might look like. Among other things, these discussions are intended to address how the facilities will be monitored by radiation protection staff. Moreover, members of the public will be able to have their say in relation to the information provided. From 4 October 2022 to 13 November 2022, interested members of the public can participate in the formulation of licensing documents for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse II mine. 

Participation is possible in three subject areas

Construction work: how can the external appearance of the waste treatment plant and interim storage facility be designed while also creating an appropriate commemorative culture at the site? Although the question of the location itself cannot be discussed, the BGE invites suggestions and comments regarding the construction of the waste treatment plant and interim storage facility.

Expansion of radiation protection: the Asse II mine is monitored in a similar manner to a nuclear facility. The BGE’s measurements are checked and supplemented by third-party measurement programmes, and the measurement results are published. In the course of retrieval, the BGE will adapt the radiation-protection measures to new situations that arise and would therefore like to know the extent to which monitoring programmes should be adapted in the interests of the general public.

Information provided: the BGE expects there to be considerable demand for information regarding the interim storage facility. There may be considerable variations in this demand, and the BGE is therefore keen to ascertain what information people want and how this should be published.

Participation by postcard, online forum or email 

At the start of October, every household in the vicinity of the Asse II mine will receive an information letter with an enclosed, prepaid postcard that can be used to submit suggestions to the BGE. In addition, an online forum will be activated on the BGE website from 4 October 2022 onwards so that members of the public can make their own proposals and discuss them with one another. In addition, suggestions can always be submitted by email to info-asse@bge.de. The BGE reserves the right to publish such suggestions in anonymised form on the online forum in order to facilitate broader discussion.

Closing dialogue event on 11 November

On 11 November 2022, the BGE will discuss the submitted proposals in an event with members of the public. The event will be held at the Eulenspiegelhalle in Schöppenstedt and is expected to begin at 4:00 p.m. It will also be possible to attend the event via the videoconferencing tool Zoom. During the event, workshops will be held in small groups at themed tables. To this end, the BGE is looking for interested members of the public to assist with chairing the event as part of a “table mentorship” and to ensure that all ideas are given equal attention. If you’re interested, please write an email to info-asse@bge.de with the subject “Table mentorship”.

Interim storage facility site cannot be discussed

With the publication of the retrieval plan in 2020, the BGE made a proposal for the site of the waste treatment plant and interim storage facility. It proposed that these facilities be built in the area known as the “Kuhlager”, where they can be connected directly to the existing site. The BGE considers this to be an appropriate site for implementing retrieval without delay and is of the view that the site is eligible for licensing. “In any conversations regarding the interim storage facility, the topic of discussion cannot therefore be whether these facilities are to be built in the Kuhlager, but rather how the facilities are to be implemented at that location. We’re always open to dialogue in this regard,” says Dr Thomas Lautsch, Technical Managing Director of the BGE. On 23 August 2022, the BGE once again set out the reasons for the siting proposal in its own statement on the “Enlightenment Report”.

About early public participation

Early public participation is participation by members of the public in accordance with section 25 of the Law on Administrative Procedure (VwVfG). This opportunity for participation is implemented voluntarily by the BGE and does not replace the participatory processes that take place later in the licensing procedure. These are the responsibility of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment, Energy, Construction and Climate Protection in its capacity as the licensing authority. Through early public participation, the aim is for suggestions from the general public to already be accepted during the issuing of licensing documents. In spring 2021, the BGE carried out an initial early public participation process. At the time, it wanted to know – in the context of the construction of the Asse 5 shaft and the retrieval mine – what ideas the general public had regarding the handling of the accumulated debris and what compensatory and mitigation measures should be implemented with respect to unavoidable interventions in the natural world. The BGE plans to offer further opportunities for early public participation in the future.

About the BGE

The BGE is a federally owned company within the portfolio of the Federal Environment Ministry. On 25 April 2017, the BGE assumed responsibility from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection as the operator of the Asse II mine and the Konrad and Morsleben repositories. Its other tasks include searching for a repository site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste produced in Germany on the basis of the Repository Site Selection Act, which entered into force in May 2017. The managing directors are Stefan Studt (Chair), Steffen Kanitz (Deputy Chair) and Dr Thomas Lautsch (Technical Managing Director).