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Protest by opponents of the tunnel near the Puttgarden ferry terminal in July
Photo:
Christian Charisius / dpa
Fehmarn is so far not known for its rare reefs.
But in the past few weeks, the algae-green elevations of the sea floor in the Baltic Sea have become a major issue: Are they hindering the construction of the planned tunnel from the island to Denmark?
The negotiations in court begin this Tuesday.
Even this barrier will probably not stop the controversial billion-dollar project.
But should the judges of the ninth senate of the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig attach greater importance to the reefs, the combined car and rail tunnel could be delayed again - and become even more expensive.
The dispute over the reefs is only the latest one surrounding the mammoth project.
Since Germany and Denmark committed to building the tunnel in 2008, there has been trouble.
The planning approval decision issued by Schleswig-Holstein in 2019 for the world's longest immersed tunnel comprises more than 40,000 pages.
Numerous experts are expected in the Leipzig Congress Hall, where one of the two proceedings is being negotiated for reasons of space and corona protection.
The other begins on October 6th in the courthouse.
A total of seven lawsuits are being heard, environmentalists, ferry operators, a farmer and the municipality of Fehmarn are attacking the decision.
Reefs initially played no role in the planning process for the approximately 18-kilometer-long structure.
Yes, such formations could also exist off Fehmarn, it was always said - but only at a great distance from the area through which the tunnel is to run in the future.
But a report commissioned by the State Environment Ministry this summer showed the opposite.
"Overlooked" reefs in the planning?
Researchers at the University of Kiel show a map with three areas, directly next to and sometimes even in the course of the planned route, which can be assigned to the "habitat type" reef from a "geomorphological and sedimentological point of view".
These biotopes according to the "Flora-Fauna-Habitat" Standard 1170, about which the NDR previously reported, must presumably at least be taken into account and ecologically balanced according to nature conservation law.
The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) already speaks of at least four areas populated with seaweed, sponges, mussels, crabs and fish that were missing in the previous plan approval documents.
He complains that the strictly protected and extremely species-rich reefs were "overlooked", although documents from 2013 in the area still referred to "coarse sediment", i.e. stones that could indicate a reef.
The Nabu writes: "One can speculate about the reasons."
On the Danish side, the operator and construction company Femern A / S has been building the 1.5-kilometer jetties for a working harbor into the sea since June.
The construction of the tunnel element factory in Rødby is to start in January.
Denmark, which wants to finance the more than seven billion euro crossing via a toll system, is putting pressure on it.
Regional sponsors speak of advantages for more than 1.3 million people between Lübeck and Copenhagen, of shorter journeys and better connections between the countries.
For the EU Commission, the project is in turn part of its trans-European transport network.
(Read more about the plans here.)
On the German side, however, there are numerous other conflicts in addition to the reefs: nature conservationists lack species protection and criticize the dangers of sediment deposits in the Baltic Sea, ferry operators fear competition and competition, the municipality of Fehmarn more traffic and additional tasks such as the tunnel fire brigade.
In the communities along the upgraded route through Holstein there is concern about the noise, and there is also a dispute about the need for the tunnel in the province.
Even if the Federal Administrative Court were to make a decision soon, there is a lot to suggest that things could go as they did with the Elbe deepening: with conditions or improvements.
Hendrick Kerlen has been keeping the dispute over the crossing, initially intended as a bridge, alive for 15 years now.
From his study in Westermarkelsdorf in the north-west of Fehmarn, he says on the phone, he looks across the Belt to Rødby.
The construction site for the planned tunnel is no longer in his field of vision: "I don't need that," says the chairman of the alliance against the fixed Fehmarnbelt crossing.
The now 81-year-old retired in 2003, and in 2005 the former industrial and civil engineer joined the citizens' initiative.
First he gained recognition of his association as an environmental and nature conservation association for years.
Now he is suing the Federal Administrative Court.
Because of environmental and species protection, he says.
For him, the reefs are "another drop in the barrel of many mistakes".
Kerlen: "The very late discovery is astonishing. If you look at the alignment of the tunnel, you can see that the reef near the port of Puttgarden is circumvented in a gentle arc, but it is not mentioned in the justification for the line finding. ”
Amazement on the one hand, confidence on the other
For Lars Friis Cornett, the motto is: convey confidence.
Lawsuits were expected, says the Germany director of Femern A / S.
Before the negotiations, he speaks of an important step: "We are confident and have great confidence in our documents and in our experts."
On the question of the reefs, his company does not want to comment on the procedure.
Femern A / S mentions "extensive environmental studies" that have been carried out in order to "determine possible effects of the construction project - temporarily and permanently".
The reason in the area of the tunnel route and in the adjacent areas had also been investigated, the analyzes were part of the plan approval procedure and two public participation rounds.
Experts have "examined the possible consequences of released sediments and suspended matter" according to the state of the art.
Illustration of the planned tunnel through the Baltic Sea
Photo:
DPA / Femern A / S
Schleswig-Holstein's Economics Minister Bernd Buchholz, who speaks of a "politically explosive process", defends the project despite the reefs.
In a survey in the economic committee of the state parliament on Wednesday, the FDP politician said: "The construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel is not opposed to a possible reef structure, at most it could come to a plan amendment."
The State Ministry of Economics and the State Ministry of the Environment did not want to comment in detail before the negotiation.
One thing is clear: Buchholz's Office for Planning Approval and Transport, according to its own information, forwarded the findings on the discoveries on the sea floor to the court on July 24th, but despite the findings it has so far refrained from making changes to the planning.
Admittedly, the time would have been short for this, but presumably the office also wants the court to explain its point of view first.
Head of the ferry company: "We're going on"
Søren Poulsgaard Jensen moves his ships over the reefs - and is also one of the plaintiffs in Leipzig.
Since 2012 he has been the head of the German-Danish shipping company Scandlines, which took over what was once the state-owned ferry service between Lolland and Fehmarn.
He fears that few people will find their way to his ferries in the future.
The port connection is becoming more difficult, and he is also worried about safety in the busy strait.
Femern A / S rejects both, stating that the ferry traffic can "continue unimpaired".
A vessel traffic system is used to monitor and guide ships in the belt from a traffic control center in order to avoid accidents.
"They're trying to wipe us out of history," says Poulsgaard nonetheless.
He refers to an expert opinion from PwC from 2019 commissioned by the state government in Kiel, according to which ferry traffic could continue to be worthwhile despite the tunnels.
"We're going on," he says fiercely - and demands that the result of the report be taken into account when designing the driveways.
Because the report appeared so late, it was no longer part of the planning documents.
Femern A / S does not want to comment before the negotiation.
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Scandlines ferry "Schleswig-Holstein" on the way to Rødby
Photo: Carsten Rehder / dpa
If things turn out differently and demand is lower than forecast, Poulsgaard fears unfair competition, as the tunnel would then have an advantage thanks to state subsidies.
The EU Commission declared this Danish state guarantee model to be legal in March, subject to strict conditions.
In Denmark it ensures acceptance because - if everything goes smoothly - only the users and not the taxpayers pay for the tunnel, the state only steps in if something goes wrong.
Whether Hendrick Kerlen will ever accept the tunnel is questionable.
He no longer wants to give the tunnel builders a leap of faith, he says.
Actually, he had wanted to slowly withdraw from active work in the action alliance.
But before the trial he says: "I will have to have a lot of staying power."
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