News item | 27-10-2023 | 12:00
From next year, Limburgers can report both light and heavy damage from coal mining. The scheme will first be opened to serious damage, and in the following months it will become clear when lighter damage can also be reported, such as cracks in walls.
The Limburg mining municipalities, the province of Limburg and the central government are jointly announcing this new arrangement today.
‘Limburgers did not ask for this’
State Secretary Vijlbrief (Mining): “Years after the end of coal mining, we now have a solution together with the region for the damage caused by mining. Because Limburgers did not ask for cracks or subsidence. With this method, residents are relieved as much as possible and the damage is neatly repaired.”
Residents are taken care of
If homeowners report damage to a local counter, they will receive a case supervisor. The counter and the supervisor come from a new organization in Heerlen specifically for handling the damage; I3ML (Institute for People, Environment and Mining in Limburg). The damage is assessed by the Mining Damage Committee, which receives a Limburg Chamber for this purpose. They do not judge on the basis of causality but on plausibility. This means there is less burden of proof for the resident. This will require less research, make the scheme friendlier to residents and limit implementation costs.
Damage handling
The severity of the damage as assessed by the Mining Damage Committee determines how the damage will be handled. Damages up to 5,000 euros are financially compensated and paid out. Larger damages up to 20,000 euros will be repaired by a contractor that I3ML works with, or if a resident prefers, a contractor commissioned by the resident. The most serious damage is always repaired by a contractor via I3ML. In this way, major damage is repaired safely and properly. It will take years before all damage is repaired, partly because the effects of coal mining continue. After a year, and regularly thereafter, the scheme will be evaluated and adjusted if necessary.
‘Recognition of victims’
Alderman Gelderblom of the municipality of Heerlen believes it is a crucial step for the ten mining municipalities in the region: “This arrangement is an important step towards repaying a historical debt of honor to the Mining Region. I am therefore very pleased with this agreement between the region and the government, which will, where possible, recover costs for mine damage repairs from former mining operators. The consequences of coal mining on the environment and residents are now being recognised, and those affected are being helped. The arrival of a new institute dedicated to this subject, the I3ML, is a very nice asset for the region.”
‘Worked hard and with tenacity’
Deputy of the province of Limburg Demollin-Schneiders: “I am pleased that after years these principles have now been established. The Province of Limburg has been working hard and tenaciously on this since the subsidence of ‘t Loon in 2011, and later together with all other parties. The details still need to be worked out further. But there is now a good basis on which the government promises to help citizens who would otherwise have to initiate time-consuming and expensive proceedings against the former mining companies.”
Mining municipalities
The ten mining municipalities are Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen, Brunssum, Beek, Beekdaelen, Kerkrade, Landgraaf, Simpelveld, Stein and Voerendaal.