Netherlands release details on geothermal supervision on environmental and safety requirements
Simplified representation of advice, document assessment moments (in the office) and inspections (field) (source: SSM, screenshot)
Alexander Richter
23 Jul 2020
The Netherlands State Supervision of Mines has released a Geothermal Supervision Arrangement with details on environmental and safety requirements for geothermal development in the Netherlands.
State Supervision of Mines (SSM) of the Netherlands has recently published the Geothermal Supervision Arrangement. The supervisory arrangement provides insight into the environmental and safety requirements for the safe application of geothermal energy in the Netherlands.
The Supervision Arrangement shows the supervision and advice of SSM on the entire life cycle of a geothermal project: the initiative, the exploration and realization, the extraction and the removal. This gives entrepreneurs insight into the structure of SSM’s supervision and the requirements that SSM sets for them. Anticipating this can speed up the licensing and supervision process for them.
The Supervision Arrangement also provides stakeholders, such as employees, local residents, municipalities, provinces, water boards and drinking water companies, with insight into the requirements that operators must meet. This can contribute to the confidence of society that geothermal projects take place in a safe manner.
The Supervision Arrangement contains an overview of the advice, decisions and inspections with associated subjects and standards. It also describes the various options for administrative and criminal intervention by SSM, such as stricter supervision. New techniques, developments and knowledge from scientific research can lead to new or different risks for the safety of people and the environment. This can have effects on supervision. That is why the Supervisory Arrangement is regularly evaluated and adjusted where necessary.
The Geothermal Supervision Arrangement (pdf in Dutch) can be consulted via the website of SSM.
Source: AgriHolland
