The Dutch Petroleum Company (NAM), with headquarters in Assen, does not have to pay a fine to the government for injecting wastewater into empty gas fields near Borgsweer. The Public Prosecution Service had previously demanded a sum of 20 million euros for a number of alleged ‘environmental crimes’.
Gas extraction also involves extracting liquid substances from the ground, which consist of, for example, water and natural gas condensate. These substances are then cleaned and injected into the ground under Borgsweer.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, NAM has not had a permit for a long time to receive hazardous waste, which was then injected into the soil. For example, the wastewater contained mercury, a dangerous substance. Injecting this waste water is not considered dangerous for people and the environment, but it must be licensed.
In addition, according to the Public Prosecutor, documents were sometimes missing and waste water was transported that was said to be ‘harmless’, while it did contain dangerous substances.
According to the court, it cannot be proven that the levels of hazardous substances in the wastewater were too high to classify it as dangerous. The Public Prosecution Service could not sufficiently demonstrate that NAM injected dangerous liquids into Borgsweer.