Saarbrücken, 07.03.2022. Manuela Ripa, Member of the European Parliament for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP), met with members of the citizens' initiative "Friends of Linslerfeld" at the site of the planned SVOLT battery factory near Überherrn. She also took part in a rally at the European monument in Berus against the construction of the battery plant in the water protection area.

The only Saarland Member of the European Parliament supports the protest against the siting of the industrial plant. Manuela Ripa commented: "The area earmarked for the construction of the factory is designated as a priority area for groundwater protection and is located in the immediate vicinity of a nature reserve that is home to red-listed animal species. Without speaking out against the construction of the battery factory in principle, because Saarland could position itself with regard to sustainable mobility, there would be much more suitable locations for such a plant with the numerous brownfield sites in our state."

The nearby decommissioned Ensdorf power plant, which is also being promoted by the "Friends of the Linslerfeld" citizens' initiative, could serve as a possible alternative site.

As one of the many arguments against the construction of the battery factory at the planned site, the MEP draws particular attention to the issues of soil and water."In view of the climate and biodiversity crisis we are facing, we must not be wasteful with the vital resources of soil and water. Sealing a large area of arable land, even though there is sufficient brownfield land available, is short-sighted and irresponsible action. It is also incomprehensible why an area that is so eminently important for the recharge of groundwater should be sealed with an industrial building. Unfortunately, this is reminiscent of Tesla's actions in Grünheide, Brandenburg. There, too, the planned "Tesla Gigafactory" is located in a water protection area. For Tesla's water supply, the regional water supplier received permits "overnight" from the State Office for the Environment to pump groundwater at two locations. However, this jeopardizes the sustainable supply of drinking water in the region all the way to Berlin. "

On the evening of the rally, the Frankfurt (Oder) Administrative Court declared a water law permit issued by the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment to the Straußberg-Erkner Water Association in 2020, which directly affects Tesla, to be "unlawful and unenforceable". The background to this is the question of how much water the local water board is allowed to extract from the groundwater, as reported by Wirtschaftswoche.

Manuela Ripa points out that her party, the ÖDP, has been fighting against the establishment of the Tesla factory for years and supports legal action by environmental associations against the brazen actions of the car manufacturer and the authorities. Manuela Ripa has already contacted the EU Commissioner for the Environment several times on this matter and asked for information on the extent to which the Tesla factory is compatible with European regulations. If no alternative location is found for the construction of the SVOLT factory, the MEP will also exert pressure via the EU in this case.

"As a former mining region, Saarland has many suitable brownfield sites to offer. Over the last 10 years, the state government has failed to designate these areas and earmark them for new industrial settlements. Designating the Linslerfeld as an area for the SVolt factory was clearly a wrong decision by the state government.

The state government must correct this and present a suitable brownfield site.

The state government can offer incentives, such as accelerated approval procedures for brownfield sites, which would make Saarland a very attractive location for companies to relocate to," emphasizes the MEP, who was shadow rapporteur for a resolution on soil protection for her group in the European Parliament.

The MEP denounces the fact that more natural land is being sealed in Saarland than in almost any other region in Germany. This is why she is involved in the "Popular initiative against land consumption in Saarland" together with the Saarland ÖDP. The Linslerfeld should be preserved as an undeveloped natural area, especially in view of the sharp decline in species.

Manuela Ripa welcomes the resistance of the citizens of Überherrn and the surrounding area against the establishment of the SVOLT factory and is pleased about their civic engagement.

You can watch my speech at the rally here: https://youtu.be/_SiY4gTESC8 

You can find more information in the Deutschlandfunk article:
https://srv.deutschlandradio.de/dlf-audiothek-audio-teilen.3265.de.html?mdm:audio_id=dira_DRK_50f60ae0