“Worst Case Occurred”
Tesla threatens new adversity due to water verdict
3/5/2022, 7:01 p.m
A court ruling on the water supply to the Tesla factory in Grünheide is causing a stir. Because the promotion of additionally required water is therefore “illegal”. While environmentalists cheer, the responsible association speaks of a “fiasco”. Will Tesla soon be on dry land?
After the state of Brandenburg approved the Tesla plant in Grünheide near Berlin, a court ruling could cause problems with the water supply. Due to a procedural error, the responsible water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE) is not allowed to pump water after a court decision in the Eggersdorf waterworks.
The association spoke of a “fiasco”. The worst case has occurred, because it is about the total volume in the waterworks of 3.759 million cubic meters per year, which should not be pumped, said spokeswoman Sandra Ponesky. “If the country doesn’t react quickly now and issue a toleration for water pumping until the procedure has been caught up on, in principle we no longer have enough for the public drinking water supply, and therefore not for Tesla either.”
Around two years after the start of construction, Tesla received the green light for its factory from the country on Friday – subject to conditions. According to the state government, Tesla wants to work through these requirements within two weeks and start production quickly. Tesla boss Elon Musk thanked him via Twitter for the approval. “The future is very exciting!” Musk wrote in German that night. “I want to thank you very much.” The project is considered one of the most important industrial projects in East Germany.
Court sees procedural error
The US electric car manufacturer is to receive water through a supply contract with the Strausberg-Erkner water association, which has now been prohibited by court ruling from drawing water. In the proceedings, the administrative court declared the approval for additional water extraction in the Eggersdorf water catchment to be “illegal” and not “enforceable”. The court justified the decision with a procedural error and thus partially upheld the complaint of the environmental associations Green League and Nabu.
The court explained that the State Office for the Environment did not involve the public in the decision to increase production volumes from 2.5 to 3.57 million cubic meters per year. Public participation must now be made up for. Only then can the increased funding begin. It is unclear how long that will take. The decision can be appealed against.
The Ministry of the Environment welcomed the possibility presented by the court of catching up on public participation in a supplementary procedure without calling the overall plan into question. The judgment and the reasons for it would be evaluated and the necessary steps arising from it would be initiated, it said.
Success for conservationists
The lawyer for the environmental organizations, Thorsten Deppner, rated the court decision as a success for the conservationists. “That’s just what happens when you try to push through such a complex industrial settlement with the accelerator pedal down,” he said. Deppner wants to wait for the reasons for the judgment in view of the lack of further tests from the point of view of the associations. If the court only sticks to this procedural error, one must consider filing an appeal against the decision.
The administrative court had stated that the necessary tests for water extraction had been carried out without errors. According to the court, there is no discrepancy between groundwater extraction and recharge with regard to the approved extraction quantity. “The existing groundwater supply is also sufficient in the long term to supply the population and industrial settlements,” according to the court.
The Strausberg-Erkner water association had already announced that it would terminate the contract with Tesla if it did not receive the water permit. “That’s not enough for our 170,000 people in the association area and of course not for Tesla either. We have to pull the emergency brake for our citizens because the public water supply has priority,” said Ponesky. The WSE spokeswoman criticized the verdict as an example of the incompetence of the authorities and the arrogance with which they have worked over the past two years. “Now it’s the country’s turn to show how important the public drinking water supply is to them.”