Extracting gas at Kaatsheuvel cannot continue under the current circumstances. This is the view of the province, the Brabantse Delta water board and the municipalities of Loon op Zand and Waalwijk. They have objected to Vermilion Energy’s plans to continue extracting shale gas until 2033. They would prefer no gas extraction in the area at all.
This is already happening in an area that needs to be protected, because groundwater is being extracted. The authorities have been of the opinion for years that gas extraction in our province should not be allowed at all.
‘Stricter measures’
Should the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) the permit If you want to permanently renew, then, according to the Brabant governments, stricter protective measures must be taken. They must guarantee the extraction and quality of drinking water in this area.
In that case, they also require Vermilion to provide funding for local sustainability projects. The money for this should come from the revenues from gas extraction. This allows houses to be insulated so that they need less natural gas for heating.
‘Against all the rules’
These are the main objections submitted by the province against the decision of the Ministry of EZK to provisionally agree to Vermilion’s plans. “If this were an application for a new gas field, it would never come,” responds provincial administrator Anne-Marie Spierings (Energie).
According to her, national and provincial regulations do not allow drilling for gas in a groundwater protection area. “Natural gas is a scarce raw material, but this also applies to clean drinking water.”
Alderman Louis Laros of the municipality of Loon op Zand is, in turn, concerned about the consequences of gas extraction for the National Park de Loonse en Drunense Duinen, among others.
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