D66 member Tjeerd de Groot wants to stipulate in law that there will be no new gas drilling in the Wadden Sea, such as in Ternaard.
In a parliamentary debate on mining on Wednesday, Tjeerd de Groot will submit a bill for this. In this amendment he writes that it will be legally established that no new permits will “any longer be issued” for the extraction of minerals in the Natura 2000 area, such as gas drilling near Ternaard.
De Groot also aims to ensure that permits already granted for exploration and extraction of minerals will not be extended. “The Wadden Sea is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have to be careful with that,” says De Groot. “It is also important for tourism that we protect this unique nature. It’s not enough to just say this.”
With this proposal, says De Groot, “we ensure that there is no new gas extraction at Ternaard, and we phase out existing gas extraction in the Wadden area.”
Gas and salt are currently being extracted under the Wadden Sea. De Groot will not alter these permits, after all, they have already been granted.
CDA in January against ‘superfluous’ SP motion
In January, the majority of the House of Representatives in its new composition did not speak out against gas extraction under the Wadden Sea near Ternaard. PVV, VVD and CDA, among others, voted against the motion by SP and D66, among others.
The CDA representatives kept their hands down during the vote because they considered the ‘speak out’ motion to be “superfluous”. The Christian Democrats previously spoke out against new gas extraction plans at Ternaard.
In addition to SP and D66, the yes camp also included GL-PvdA, NSC, BBB, Party for the Animals, ChristenUnie and Volt.
Waiting for cabinet
The decision on possible gas extraction under the Wadden Sea near Ternaard has been hanging over the market for years. At the beginning of this year, NAM went to court over the lack of clarity from the cabinet regarding the granting of permits. The government wants to provide a response in the first quarter of this year, i.e. before April 1.
The Rutte IV cabinet announced in 2021 that it would no longer process new permits. Because the NAM application was already pending, the cabinet still has to approve it. State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (D66, Mining) is “not in favor”, he said several times. But, he also said, “we are dealing with a permit process that has been initiated.”