A judge will decide in February: The deepening of the Elbe river is getting closer – Handelsblatt

deepening of the Elbe river in sight

The planners of the project could have to make further concessions for fish protection, but the start of construction is getting closer.

(photo: Reuters)

HamburgThe new, three-day oral hearing when it is completed. The Federal administrative court will only announce in the new year a decision on the controversial Dredging of the river Elbe. The decision is now to 9 am. February fall. Probably, the process then ends with the judgment – but it is also conceivable that the court wants to continue the process even after four years.

for years, disputed the deepening of the Elbe is intended to give the new, larger ships access to the port of Hamburg and a denser vessel traffic. However, many environmentalists warn of the impact on the environment.

During the trial, the court had found several weak points in the current planning. The judge criticised the fact that there is as yet no specific plans for the Monitoring of the proposed speed limits for ships on the Elbe. In addition, you indicated, with the expulsion of one of the compensation to be agreed: A newly created Auenfläche on Hamburg’s Elbe island Wilhelmsburg had anyway been, regardless of the deepening of the Elbe river planned, claimed the lawyers. In addition, the planners had to make further concessions to the fish protection. So the excavator to rest in the spring months, when the routine dredging in the future on a regular basis.

deepening of the Elbe: last round for the port of Hamburg

The legal dispute over the deepening of the Elbe river, Germany’s most important port, charged. Now, a judgment is imminent – if no new obstacles emerge. The complex of environmental law, the important projects are delayed. more…

The lawsuit the environmental groups WWF, Nabu and the BUND had tried to shake up with a counter-opinion, the basic assumptions of the environmental impact study. A sand barrier at the mouth of the Elbe in future is to reduce the impact of the tidal exchange.

environmentalists have criticized the designers have simulated only a two-week period. A study by the University of Darmstadt, Germany show, however, that after a year, a considerable part of the barrier would be removed. Then the tide would be a few inches extreme and so may be near-natural shore areas at risk. The judge must now decide whether the submitted planning enough opinions yet.

it is Conceivable that the judge waving large parts of the plans, some of the remaining contentious points. So similar, the court had ruled recently in the case of the planned A20 motorway-tunnel under the river Elbe West of Hamburg: In April, the court had rejected almost all of the action points. For improvements in water protection, submitted by the planners during the process, however, would have been a renewed involvement of citizens is necessary, stated the Leipzig judges at that time. Now the authorities need to rework this one point. The plaintiff should sue then again, it would be only this one aspect, before the court – a new process could be much faster.

The deepening of the Elbe

• The Elbe is one of the most important waterways in Germany. For shipping important the around 130 kilometres long between the North sea and Hamburg.

• In Hamburg is a port in Europe, the second-largest. There in 2014 alone, handled almost ten million standard containers (TEU).

• The Elbe has been since the beginning of the 20th century. Century already adapted to six times the requirements of the shipping industry, most recently in 1999. This time, Hamburg wants to dredge the river so that ships with a draught of 13.5 meters, regardless of the ebb and flood. Tideabhängig the Elbe river, for vessels of a draught of a maximum of 14.5 metres passable.

• With the upcoming deepening are expected to be incurred 38 million cubic meters of dredged material. By far the largest part of it is to be installed, in order to reduce in the mouth of the Elbe with water, the silting up of the channel walls. A maximum of twelve million cubic meters are allowed to be dumped in the Elbe estuary, so the water is tilted.

when Elbvertiefungs process had given to the court to improvements in the process over the course of the planners on several occasions, the opportunity. Prior to the current hearing Hamburg’s Senator for economy Frank Horch (independent) had expressed, therefore, a Failure on the last contentious points was excluded. On Wednesday, he said only: “We see the for the 9. February 2017 announced announcement appointment excited, but also confident."

The environmental groups, the prospects of success of nature according to different. It is conceivable, therefore – particularly after the critical course of the recent hearing that the court indicated this time large parts of the plans as stated in a previous hearing to sanction, but, for example, the opinion on the issue of the sand barrier is not holding enough. Then this could be the work of the planners separately – which would delay the start of construction, however.

infographic economic factor in the Hamburg port: the duration of the dispute to the deepening of the Elbe

PremiumHamburg, in the port – economically as well as emotionally, as our chart of the day shows. Thus, larger Container to fit a giant through the eye of the needle river Elbe will be dredged from the river. However, the resistance is large. more…

the court in February, however, all the action points, the construction of the building immediately. The Confederation and the Hanseatic city of want to start as soon as possible with the construction of one and a half to two years and a minimum of 600 million Euro to cost. A complete Negative judgment, as is the case in the planned Weser-deepening – would be on the basis of the process history, a big Surprise.

The port industry called on Wednesday for a quick decision. Gunther Bonz, President of the business Association of the port of Hamburg warned: “on the basis of a total of almost 15 years of ongoing proceedings, has already been a negative impact. Also in the case of a positive decision, – the hopes of the port industry can be further short-term negative consequences, such as, for example, changes from the Hamburg start-up line services, not excluded."