Concerns about the dumping of dredged material from Antwerp in the Scheldt | PFAS Western Scheldt
MIDDELBURG – D66 in the Provincial Council is concerned about the dumping of dredged material from chemical company 3M in the Scheldt near the Belgian-Dutch border.
A trench is being dug in the bottom of the Scheldt for a new tunnel. This is a link in the Oosterweel connection, the new route around the center of Antwerp. D66 citizen committee member Wouter Versluijs fears that the dredging sludge has been contaminated with PFAS.
One of the places where the dredged material is deposited in the Schaar Ouden Doel, the part of the left bank of the Scheldt, the nuclear power stations of Doel and the Hedwigepolder. The Flemish government has published the permit for the work. No objection can be lodged against this.
D66 asks the daily provincial government that more PFAS will flow into the Western Scheldt.
Rijkswaterstaat
The Flemish government had previously informed the province of Zeeland of its intention to grant the permit. Because it concerned the (Wester) Scheldt, it was originally the province that Rijkswaterstaat would respond. But just as with the request for advice for an environmental permit to 3M, the request for advice never reached Rijkswaterstaat. This permit allowed 3M to screen, among other things, PFAS in the Scheldt.
The province and Rijkswaterstaat will now investigate whether it is necessary to lodge an objection against the central government permit for landfill. they have until mid-December. D66 urges the Provincial Executive to do this. Versluijs wants to bring the matter up for discussion in the Parliamentary Space Committee on Friday.
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