A German environmental group has filed a formal objection to a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Baltic island of Rügen.
The group, Environmental Action Germany (DUH), argued that the LNG project filed insufficient paperwork to obtain regulatory approval, including missing or incomplete analyses and expert reports.
“The operating company Deutsche Regas has failed to systematically determine hazard scenarios, and the proposed measures to minimize risks are also incomplete,” DUH alleged on Monday.
The group called on the German government to halt the controversial project.
The objection was raised as part of the regulatory approval process, although DUH also warned that it would bring legal action if its concerns were not addressed.
A spokesman for terminal operator Deutsche Regas said that the DUH accusations were “generalized and lacked any substance.”
“We have over 500 pages on the subject of safety in the application documents,” the spokesman said, all of which are publicly available.
The proposed Rügen terminal is one of several fast-tracked LNG projects aimed at shoring up Germany’s energy supplies after Russia largely halted delivery of natural gas following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Germany had been heavily reliant on Russian gas for electricity, home heating and industrial applications.
The terminal on Rügen, a picturesque island off of Germany’s eastern Baltic Sea coast beloved by holidaymakers, has been particularly controversial. Environmentalists have expressed concern about pipelines running near protected wildlife areas.
