RE:the greenies are out to get us ..the rest of the story ..
Greens want to stop oil trials
Oil pump near Vorhop: The Wittingen Greens are worried about the groundwater in view of new investments.
© Boden, Holger
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By Holger Boden
Wittingen/Knesebeck/Vorhop – Should the oil company Vermilion be allowed to carry out construction work on the conveyor systems near Knesebeck and Vorhop? This question is currently being clarified by means of a planning approval procedure including an environmental impact assessment (the IK reported). Before the Wittingen Committee for Construction Matters and the Environment issues a statement next Tuesday, February 8 (6 p.m., Stadthalle), the Greens are demanding that the entire process be stopped. According to the party's assessment, the documents made public are not complete.
In the Schnewrde water protection area in the Vorhop and Vorhop-Knesebeck oil fields, Vermilion Energy is planning, among other things, to divert existing wells, some of which are more than 60 years old. The Wittingen Greens are once again referring to the Uelzen water management and environmental engineer Bernd Ebeling, who has worked through the documents on the process - papers on the eight boreholes and information on how to ensure that no water-polluting substances get into the groundwater.
A question that cannot be answered, says Ebeling, who is quoted in a statement from the Greens: “There are no verifiable documents on this subject in the planning approval process. The documents do not reveal exactly what is planned for the eight boreholes and whether the old boreholes, some of which are not cemented, are to be sealed off from water-bearing strata. This project does not meet the mandatory requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.”
Christian Schroeder, leader of the Greens in the city council and in the district council, therefore says: “In our opinion, the process cannot be continued in this way. We are therefore calling for the immediate demolition.” It is not just about protecting drinking water for the Schnewrde waterworks, but also about protecting the groundwater. Agriculture depends on clean water.
The Gifhorner Greens member of the state parliament Imke Byl says: "Only when all the relevant information is on the table should the planning approval procedure be relaunched." In this context, she criticizes that the state government's agreement on groundwater protection is "worth nothing". No new production wells would be applied for, but: "Now, as in the current case, the old wells are simply used and diverted in order to continue production within the protected areas."
In the case of Vermilion, one cannot understand the criticism of the Greens. The process is "as always within the legally prescribed framework and in close coordination with the responsible authorities," explains company spokesman Matthias Schorr. Objections by third parties are of course possible in this process. On request, Schorr confirms that "a completeness check within the meaning of the procedure" has of course taken place with regard to the documents submitted.
The company spokesman emphasizes that the project involves, among other things, the renewal of parts of the systems - and thus also "measures to create sustainable safety". This is clear from the documents relating to the planning approval process. In a similar project a few years ago, Vermilion explained its plans in public events - this is currently not an issue under pandemic conditions.
With a view to the concerns about the groundwater, Schorr explains: "We only divert the boreholes far below the groundwater horizon." Meanwhile, the Greens cite borehole sketches from 2013, according to which two boreholes over several hundred meters required the cement casing for the steel pipe missing Byl had received the pictures in response to a request from the state parliament.