To remind, the Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board ruled to repeal the permit for the onshore part of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline which the Danish Environmental Protection Agency granted back in July 2019.
The board stated that the assessment did not sufficiently describe the measures taken to protect dormice, Nordic birch mice, and bats protected by the European Habitats Directive Annex 4.
A spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency said.
- Naturally, we are not happy with the conclusions from the Appeal Board but we must take into consideration that they read the directives in a very strict way
Marian Kaagh, deputy director and head of Energinet’s department for construction projects, said:
- We have a 210 km long construction site across Denmark, and we cannot just jump out of the excavators and leave the construction sites
- We have to shut down in a sound way, and therefore there will still be people working in several different places on the stretch
- Understandably, we encounter a lot of questions about what it means for schedule, finances, compensation, and much more – not least questions from the many who add soil or are neighbors, and from the users of the upcoming gas pipeline
- We are in close dialogue with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency about how we obtain the necessary permits and get clarification as soon as possible on how the work can continue
- As soon as we can clearly state the consequences, we will do so
