In the dispute over the Elbe deepening, Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) expects an early agreement with Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. “We now need short-term support again. The two neighboring federal states have promised us this support,” Tschentscher told NDR 90.3 and the NDR “Hamburg Journal”. According to information from NDR 90.3, the silt problem will be discussed at ministerial level with Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein on Tuesday.
As the broadcaster further reports, Tschentscher sees at least three underwater dumps. On the one hand, this is the so-called “exclusive economic zone” far out in the North Sea. Hamburg has applied to the federal government for use, but approval may still take a while. In addition, the area around buoy E3 off Helgoland is to be used. “This is something that Schleswig-Holstein will continue to make possible for us,” said Tschentscher.
A third sludge dump is said to be in front of Scharhörn in the Hamburg area. Since it would be close to the nature reserve, Lower Saxony rejects it. Tschentscher wants an early end to the dumping of harbor silt in the Elbe on the city limits of Schleswig-Holstein on the Nessand: “This should be stopped as soon as possible because it is ecologically harmful and uneconomical.”
In the conflict over the dredging of silt from the tidal Elbe, Schleswig-Holstein demands rapid and sustainable solutions. The state parliament and state government campaigned for this last week across party lines. They clearly rejected Hamburg plans to deposit silt near the Scharhörn bird protection island in the Wadden Sea National Park.
