WILHELMSHAVEN (dpa-AFX) - Barely three weeks after the Wilhelmshaven import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) went into operation, the German environmental aid organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has lodged an objection against the operating permit. The association is demanding that the operating period of the floating terminal ship "Höegh Esperanza" be limited from 20 years to a maximum of ten years. In addition, the environmental aid organization is demanding that the discharge of biocide-treated wastewater into the sea be stopped. Instead, the terminal operator, gas importer Uniper, is to rely on environmentally compatible cleaning processes without chemicals. The Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN), which is responsible for the project, had granted water rights approval for the terminal in mid-December.

The operation of the terminal is currently limited in the LNG Act until 2043, i.e. for 20 years. This is clearly too long for Deutsche Umwelthilfe and other environmental protection associations. In their view, the long duration contradicts the goals for reducing emissions of climate-damaging gases under the Paris Climate Agreement.

It must be ensured that the climate protection is also in the current energy crisis, said the Federal Executive Director of the environmental aid, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, on Wednesday according to a statement. "If we now issue numerous unlimited operating permits for new fossil projects, we will bring ourselves from one fossil dependency to the next and endanger our climate goals." Environmental aid is also taking action against the operating period of the connection pipeline. It is also to be limited to ten years.

Environmental groups also criticize the discharge of biocide-treated wastewater into the sea. This is because in order to convert the liquefied natural gas delivered by tankers back into gas, it has to be heated with North Sea water on board the LNG terminal. To prevent the ship's seawater systems from becoming overgrown with mussels or barnacles, the operator Uniper says chlorine must be used as a biocide for purification. However, in view of the use of chlorine, the environmental aid organization fears damage to the adjacent tidal flats. Instead of chemicals, the environmentalists say, other cleaning methods, such as mechanical cleaning, should be used.

The Lower Saxony Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday that it was "relaxed" about a possible lawsuit against the biocide discharge. An intensive examination of the environmental authorities had shown that "the limit values are undercut partly clearly". The state is also committed to "intensive water ecology monitoring," for example. "The protection of the environment and the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site must be ensured at all times," the house of Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) announced.

However, a lawsuit is only possible if the objection is rejected. To what extent other environmental protection associations will also file an objection remained open. The Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) and the Naturschutzbund (Nabu) in Lower Saxony said on request that they were still examining the matter.

The state is bound by the LNG law passed by the Bundestag with regard to the duration of the operating license until 2043, the energy ministry said. However, it also pointed out that the "Höegh Esperanza" is only chartered for ten years and a second terminal ship for Wilhelmshaven for five years. "It is also clear that when the fixed onshore terminal for green LNG planned for Wilhelmshaven in 2026/2027 is ready, the floating regasification stations will no longer be needed." Cleaning the piping systems with chlorine is not necessary for fixed onshore terminals, he said.

The LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven is the first to open in Germany. It is part of Germany's efforts to become independent of natural gas from Russia. In the application process for the terminal, there had been around 300 objections from public interest groups, environmental associations and private individuals./len/DP/nas