Protection of possible sites

Economic interests such as the extraction of raw materials or the use of geothermal energy must be weighed against the public interest in finding a safe final storage site for radioactive waste.

For this reason, the legislator has laid down safeguards in Section 21 of the Site Selection Act (StandAG). The aim is to "...protect areas that are being considered as the best possible site for final disposal" from changes that could impair their suitability as a repository site. All mining and other activities from a depth of more than 100 metres must currently be checked for this aspect.

The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal, in cooperation with the Land authorities, assesses the extent to which projects requiring approval under water and mining law must be approved or rejected (so-called consent regulation).

With the entry into force of the "Act on the Adjustment of Cost Regulations in the Field of Radioactive Waste Management and on the Amendment of Further Regulations" on 01.01.2021, site selection is limited to the identified areas pursuant to Section 13 (2) StandAG that continue to be considered for site selection after application of the exclusion criteria and minimum requirements pursuant to Sections 22 and 23 StandAG, as well as to those areas for which a final assessment is not possible for the time being due to insufficient geological data.

Further information on securing the site can be found on the repository search information platform.