Information & Discussion
Cavern advisory council of STORAG ETZEL
On November 29, 2010, the cavern advisory council of STORAG ETZEL (then IVG Caverns), which is unique in Germany, held its constituent meeting in Etzel. The initiative for the foundation came from the then District Administrator of the Wittmund District, Mr. Matthias Köring.
Members of the advisory council were representatives of the districts of Wittmund and Friesland, the communities of Friedeburg and Sande, the cavern community, the citizens' initiative Quality of Life as well as STORAG ETZEL GmbH and the operators at the Etzel site. The meetings had been open to the public for some time.
After 10 years of intensive information and discussion in 25 advisory council meetings, STORAG ETZEL as the organizer and central player decided to dissolve the board, not least because all the important topics relating to cavern construction and operation in Etzel were dealt with in detail.
New forms of communication
STORAG ETZEL is currently reconsidering the format of public information and dialog with affected and interested citizens in the neighborhood and will choose other forms of this communication in the future.
Of course, we will continue to provide up-to-date and public information about activities and developments at the site and will be available at any time to answer questions:
Objective of the Advisory Council fulfilled
In the lively development phase that began more than 10 years ago, the Cavern Advisory Council was intended to enable representatives of the interest groups and local institutions involved to ask questions about cavern-related matters, to make suggestions and raise concerns, and to develop constructive solutions together with the operators at the Etzel site in order to reduce adverse effects from cavern construction and operation as far as possible.
The task of the STORAG ETZEL committee was to create an information platform and a basis for an exchange of opinions and experiences that would contribute transparently and in a constructive manner to open and direct cooperation and thus also increasingly inform the public.
The topics of the 25 working sessions
The Cavern Advisory Council devoted each working session to one main topic.
The topics of the 25 working sessions of the Cavern Advisory Council of STORAG ETZEL were:
- 20.01.2011: Subsidence prognosis
- 18.03.2011: Preservation of evidence
- 24.06.2011: Emergency concept at the Etzel site
- 14.10.2011: Compensation and mitigation measures
- 12.01.2012: Guiding concept development "Etzel cultural landscape
- 23.03.2012: Energy turnaround until 2050
- 12.07.2012: Mission statement "Cultural Landscape Etzel
- 19.10.2012: Dealing with possible building impacts
- 26.04.2013: Pressure build-up test K102 in the period 1990-92
- 18.10.2013: Public participation
- 23.05.2014: Current issues
- 18.09.2014: Fire protection
- 26.02.2015: Fire brigade support services
- 08.07.2015: Fire brigade services for the Etzel cavern storage facility
- 10.11.2015: Current topics
- 18.02.2016: Current topics, including agreement on fire department services at the Etzel cavern storage facility
- 20.04.2016: Presentation of the results of the new subsidence forecast
- 17.06.2016: Current status of cavern storage
- 24.11.2016: Current topics, including subsidence prognosis and building monitoring
- 15.03.2017: Current topics, including safety distances
- 17.10.2017: Current topics
- 19.04.2018: Current topics
- 17.09.2018: Current topics, including results of the impact analysis
- 05.06.2019: Current topics, including Etzel general operating plan
- 09.03.2020: Etzel general operating plan