The program De Staat van Drenthe is about support. To what extent is this important in the possible issue of a permit to inject waste water into an empty gas field under Schoonebeek. And does participation also mean decision-making?
“No”, says Bert Bouwmeester, chairman of the care table. The table was not set up to discuss whether or not to restart oil production. “It is the State that is responsible for granting permits. And the State will look at the permit application, which is why the discussion belongs there.”
Henk Vredeveld, a participant in the table and involved in the action group Stop Afvalwater Schoonebeek, thinks differently. “Absolutely, State Secretary Vijlbrief van Mijnbouw was present at the first meeting. He said: if the people of Schoonebeek don’t want it, it won’t happen. So I thought we’d talk about that. But then it turns out we’re not talking about that. We are only allowed to talk about the preconditions. And that is important, absolutely, but in the end it is only a very small part of the overall process.”