Tasks under mining and water law
The final disposal of radioactive waste is not only subject to nuclear law, but also to mining and water law. In future, BASE will be responsible for the necessary mining and water licences for the final repositories for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste at Schacht Konrad and Morsleben (ERAM) as well as for the repository for high-level radioactive waste, which is still to be identified.
BASE will also monitor the implementation of the mining licences and the safety of the operations as part of its role as mining supervisor. The water authority will remain with the Länder.
Mining supervision of disposal mines has three main aspects.
When will BASE take over responsibility?
The responsibilities under mining and water law for the Konrad mine will be transferred to BASE once the nuclear supervisory authority has approved its commissioning following an overall acceptance inspection. The responsibility for the ERAM will be transferred to BASE as soon as the current licensing procedure for has been completed. Following the final siting decision by federal law, BASE as the licensing authority will be responsible for the for high- from the very beginning. The tasks pertaining to mining and water law for the Asse project, on the other hand, will remain with the state of Lower Saxony.
What are the tasks pertaining to mining law?
Mining law refers to the legal provisions concerning mineral resources and mining. Repositories in deep geological strata are mines in the technical sense. Therefore, to a large extent, they are also treated as such under the law. BASE's area of responsibility will include the licensing of mining activities in the repositories as well as the monitoring of operational safety and the occupational health and safety of employees. This concerns, for example, regulations on working hours, or the requirements for technical facilities such as the ropeway system for transporting persons or materials through a shaft. The of the , the Bundesgesellschaft für (BGE mbH), must submit their plans to BASE for review. If all legal requirements are met, BASE will issue a licence, and the planned measures can subsequently be carried out.
Where do repository projects affect water law?
Water law protects water as a natural resource. In the course of mining activities for the construction and operation of repositories, shafts and drifts may be driven into the subsurface. Some of these might penetrate layers in which groundwater flows. Water entering via such pathways must be collected, cleaned and discharged into water bodies at the surface.
BASE will examine all repository projects that may have an impact on the quality of groundwater and other water bodies. Only if no negative impacts on water quality are to be expected will it grant approval.
Stand: 2023.07.13