Angry and sidelined. This is how most parties feel tonight in the Coevorden city council when it comes to the waste water injection at Schoonebeek. The mayors and aldermen of the municipalities of Coevorden and Emmen have no objection to it. The city council of Coevorden, on the other hand,
“We find the consideration of alternatives and the funneling to the ultimate intention of NAM, imitable and logical,” the board writes. “An important starting point for us was and is that the injection must be safe and responsible for people, the environment and the subsoil. Based on the information that is now available, we believe that there is a solid basis for moving to the permit application phase .”
No fewer than five residents of Schoonebeek and the surrounding area spoke about the wastewater injection prior to the meeting. All five with the same, concerned voice: the request not to agree with the position of the Commission.
The speakers speak on behalf of a group that emerged after the meetings organized by NAM and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Text and explanation was given about pumping waste water into an empty gas field under the village. In this case, it concerns production water that is released during oil extraction. According to previous research and NAM itself, this is the best option for the environment.
“Actually, it comes down to the fact that we just have to agree to the injection of waste water”, says speaker Mrs Kruit when asked. “As residents, we are not an equal discussion partner at the unburdening table.”
At the unburdening table are from the area Dorpsbelangen Schoonebeek, Industriekring Schoonebeek, Natuurvereniging Stroomdal, LTO and individual residents from Schoonebeek and hamlets. Naturally, NAM and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are also at the table.
“I would like to ask you not to approve the consent, because it is now clear that we are dealing with an unreliable organization,” said speaker Vredeveld. He expresses concern about the effects of the injection. “The fact is that there is a danger of surrounding salt being dissolved by the water, causing landslides, but we won’t feel the effects of that until two or three generations from now.”
Next speaker Van den Brink: “Confidence in NAM is completely zero. The pipeline runs right in front of our house. In Twente there has been very active opposition. Now the NAM thinks: it can be done easily in Schoonebeek, because they say there none of it.”
“NAM used to be good. Of course it was nice if you got a pumpjack on land. You couldn’t grow potatoes against that. Times have changed now. The importance of NAM is purely economic,” thinks Van den Brink.
Siersema, another speaker: “You should not think that as a council you have no influence. You must approve a zoning plan. If you do not do that, the NAM plans cannot go ahead. No zoning plan, no pollution.”
Council member Irene Driehuis of Progressief Akkoord Coevorden will respond to this later. She calls on her fellow council members: “You can sit back and say: ‘We can’t do anything’, but we can do something. We can say we don’t want it. It has stopped in Twente because the inhabitants local and national government have done that.”
“I think we should stand up against this,” she continues. “We do not agree with this. That is a very strong signal to send out. I have heard the Secretary of State say: ‘If the local population and politics are against it, we will not do it’. So there is an opportunity here, according to me.”
Thieno Nijenbanning of BBC2014 concludes otherwise: “We are not happy with contamination in any form. We also know that the decision-making lies at the national level. We cannot decide on this at the municipal level.”
In the end, it is not decided by the municipalities, the province or at the care table how NAM should deal with the waste water. That is what the ministry is about. The NAM applies for the permit from the Ministry. The State Supervision of Mines may still give advice on this, this organization mainly looks at safety. But in the end, the ministry decides. Interested parties can still appeal against that decision.
Several parties are concerned about the unburdening table: Driehuis (Progressive Agreement Coevorden) speaks of an unequal level of file knowledge between residents and a party such as the NAM. Bert Albring (VVD) thinks the care table is very well intended, but thinks it has not yet achieved its goal. “It must be from the residents and not from NAM or the Ministry of Economic Affairs.”
Alderman Joop Slomp (PvdA) spoke on behalf of the council, because portfolio holder Jeroen Huizing (CDA) was absent due to illness. He indicated that there is indeed a difference in file knowledge, but that the expertise lies in the reports made. “The municipality sits at the unburdening table as a listener and has consultations with NAM and the ministry every two weeks.”
Another point of concern is the economic benefit for the region. PvdA councilor Marjan Nijenbanning says she is also concerned about the subject: “The economic interest is generally given a heavier weighting argument, especially when I see a number of amounts in the documents and then the word exploitation of the region is used. in my mouth.”
Albring (VVD): “10 to 20 percent of the proceeds should remain here substantially.” The council wants to see this certainty recorded in the advice to the ministry.
Finally, Henk Bouwers of the Political Party Coevorden cites the problems caused by NAM activities in Groningen and Twente. “I no longer have faith in NAM. It is too crazy for words. We should not continue with that.”
The Board takes the Council’s concerns into account in the amendments to be made to the letter. The city council of Emmen also gives its opinion on this. Both boards then send the letter as advice to the ministry, which determines whether the permit will be granted to NAM.
The letter will be discussed in the city council of Emmen on Monday.