Fehmarn Belt Tunnel in front of the Federal Administrative Court: The Great Trench

Fehmarn is not known until now for its rare reefs. But in recent weeks, the algae-green elevations of the seafloor in the Baltic Sea have become a major problem: Are they hampering the construction of the planned tunnel from the island to Denmark? Negotiations in court begin this Tuesday.

Even this barrier probably won’t stop the controversial multi-billion dollar project. But if the judges of the 9th Senate of the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig give more importance to the reefs, the combined rail and car tunnel could be delayed again and become even more expensive.

The dispute over the reefs is just the latest around the gigantic project. Since Germany and Denmark agreed to build the tunnel in 2008, there have been problems. The planning approval decision issued by Schleswig-Holstein in 2019 for the world’s longest submerged tunnel comprises more than 40,000 pages. Numerous experts are expected at the Conference Center in Leipzig, where one of the two procedures is being negotiated for reasons of space protection and crown. The other begins on October 6 in court. A total of seven lawsuits are being heard, environmentalists, ferry operators, a farmer and the Fehmarn municipality are attacking the decision.

Reefs initially played no role in the planning process for the roughly 18-kilometer-long structure. Yes, such formations could also exist in front of Fehmarn, it was always said, but only at a great distance from the area through which the tunnel must run in the future. But a report commissioned by the state environment ministry this summer showed otherwise.

Reefs “ignored” in planning?

Researchers from the University of Kiel show a map with three areas, directly next to and sometimes even in the course of the planned route, which can be assigned to the reef “habitat type” from a “geomorphological and sedimentological point of view”. These biotopes according to Standard 1170 “Flora-Fauna-Habitat”, on which the NDR previously reported, presumably must be taken into account and ecologically balanced according to the law of nature conservation.

The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) already speaks of at least four areas populated with algae, sponges, mussels, crabs and fish that were missing in the approval documents of the previous plan. He complains that the strictly protected and extremely species-rich reefs were “overlooked,” although 2013 documents in the area still refer to “coarse sediments,” that is, stones that could indicate a reef. The Nabu writes: “One can speculate on the reasons.”

On the Danish side, the operator and construction company Femern A / S has been building the 1.5-kilometer quays for a working port at sea since June. Construction of the tunnel element factory in Rødby will start in January. Denmark, which wants to finance the crossing of more than seven billion euros through a toll system, is pushing it. Regional sponsors speak of benefits for more than 1.3 million people between Lübeck and Copenhagen, shorter trips and better connections between countries. For the EU Commission, the project is in turn part of its trans-European transport network. (Read more about the plans here).

On the German side, there are many other conflicts besides reefs: nature conservationists miss the protection of species and criticize the dangers of sediment deposits in the Baltic Sea, ferry operators fear competition and the municipality of Fehmarn more traffic and additional tasks such as the tunnel fire brigade. In communities along the improved route through Holstein there is concern about noise and there is also a dispute over the need for the tunnel in the province.

Even if the Federal Administrative Court were to make a decision soon, there are many indications that things could go the same way as with the deepening of the Elbe: with conditions or improvements.

Hendrick Kerlen has kept the dispute over the crossing, initially thought of as a bridge, alive for 15 years. From his studio in Westermarkelsdorf in northwest Fehmarn, he said by phone, he looked across the Belt towards Rødby. The planned tunnel construction site is no longer in his field of vision: “I don’t need that,” says the president of the alliance against the fixed crossing of Fehmarnbelt. The now 81-year-old retired in 2003, and in 2005 the former industrial and civil engineer joined the citizens’ initiative. It first obtained the recognition of its association as an association of conservation of the environment and nature for years. Now he is suing the Federal Administrative Court. Due to the protection of the environment and species, he says.

For him, the reefs are “one more drop in the barrel of many mistakes.” Kerlen: “The very late discovery is amazing. If you look at the tunnel alignment, you can see that the reef near Puttgarden harbor is circumvented in a smooth arc, but it is not mentioned in the justification for finding the line.”

Awe on the one hand, confidence on the other

For Lars Friis Cornett, the motto is: convey confidence. Demands were expected, says the German director of Femern A / S. Before the negotiations, he speaks of an important step: “We have confidence and a lot of confidence in our documents and in our experts.”

On the reef issue, your company does not want to comment on the procedure. Femern A / S mentions “extensive environmental studies” that have been carried out in order to “determine the possible effects of the construction project – temporarily and permanently”. Motif in the tunnel route area and adjacent areas was also examined, the analyzes were part of the plan approval procedure and two rounds of public participation. Experts have “examined the possible consequences of released sediments and suspended matter” according to the state of the art.

Schleswig-Holstein Finance Minister Bernd Buchholz, who speaks of a “politically explosive event”, defends the project despite the reefs. In a poll in the economic committee of the state parliament on Wednesday, the FDP politician said: “The construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel does not preclude a possible reef structure; the State Ministry of Economy and the State Environment Ministry do not they wanted to comment in detail before the negotiation.

One thing is clear: Buchholz’s Transportation and Planning Approval Office, based on its own information, referred the findings about the deep-sea discoveries to court on July 24, but despite the findings, so far they have has refrained from making changes in planning. True, time would have been short for that, but presumably the office also wants the court to explain its point of view first.

Head of the ferry company: “We continue”

Søren Poulsgaard Jensen moves his boats over the reefs and is also one of the plaintiffs in Leipzig. Since 2012 he has been the director of the German-Danish shipping company Scandlines, which took over the former state ferry service between Lolland and Fehmarn. He fears that few people will make it to his ferries in the future. The port connection is becoming more difficult and you are also concerned about safety in the busy strait. Femern A / S rejects both, stating that the ferry traffic can “continue intact.” A boat traffic system is used to monitor and guide the boats in the belt from a traffic control center to avoid accidents.

“They are trying to erase us from history,” says Poulsgaard, however. It refers to a 2019 PwC expert opinion commissioned by the state government in Kiel, according to which ferry traffic could remain valuable despite the tunnels. “We are moving forward,” he says fiercely, demanding that the report’s result be taken into account when designing access roads as well. Because the report appeared so late, it was no longer part of the planning documents. Femern A / S does not want to comment before the negotiation.