The organisations BUND, DAV, DKV, DAFV, DNR, Grüne Liga, NABU, WWF and Wanderfische ohne Grenzen (Migratory Fishes without Borders) have published an Open Letter on the draft of a law on the implementation of the Renewable Energies Directive (EU 2018/2001) for authorisation procedures according to the Federal Immission Control Act and the Federal Water Act (BR DS 25/21) in the field of small hydropower.

to the members of the Environment and Economics Committee in the Federal Council and the Environment Committee in the German Parliament

Berlin, 09.02.2021

Open letter: Preserve the last free-flowing sections of rivers - no accelerated approval procedures for environmentally damaging small hydropower!

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great concern that we have taken note of the present draft law on the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU 2018/2001) for approval procedures under the Federal Emission Control Act and the Federal Water Act (BR DS 25/21) in the field of small hydropower. We are convinced that the draft law is irresponsible in terms of nature conservation and contrary to European law, because the new construction and modernisation of small hydropower plants have a serious impact on the achievement of good ecological status according to the Water Framework Directive and contribute to a considerable endangerment of the last free-flowing river sections. Under the guise of alleged minimal increases in efficiency, massive encroachments on water bodies are accepted without sufficient examination of the environmental requirements.

Most of the approximately 7,400 small hydropower plants are hopelessly outdated from an environmental point of view and can hardly be modernised at reasonable cost. In order to achieve the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Birds and Habitats Directives (BHD), many sites require dismantling rather than a simplified approval procedure. As a rule, modernisation is only tackled by the operators if it is accompanied by an increase in capacity. This would deprive the rivers of even more flow energy in the future, which they already urgently need for their natural self-preservation processes.

Furthermore, we point out that Regulation (EU) 2019/1010 of the 5^th of June 2019 on EU Nature Legislation requires in Article 18 (3) the establishment of guidelines that allow for a uniform interpretation of the term 'environmental damages'. The present draft law overlooks the Commission's interpretations in the guidelines, which are exclusively oriented towards the case law of the Court of Justice.

We therefore appeal to you to stand up for the preservation of the last free-flowing stretches of rivers and their biodiversity and to significantly improve the present draft law in the further procedure. This includes the renunciation of one-sided privileges to the detriment of nature and the environment, full compliance with the European legal provisions on nature and water protection, and binding consideration of the EU Guidelines on environmental liability.

Yours sincerely

Prof. Dr. Kai Niebert (President DNR)

Olaf Bandt (Chairman BUND)

Dr. Christel Happach-Kasan (President DAFV)

Manfred Sailer (Vice President DAV)

Wolfram Götz (Secretary General DKV)

Michael Bender (Federal Contact Point Water GRÜNE LIGA)

Leif Miller (Federal Executive Director NABU)

Stephan Zirpel (Head of Department Nature Conservation Germany WWF)

Armin Weinbrenner (1st Chairman Migratory Fishes without Borders)

Here you can find the entire document: Joint letter on small hydropower (in German)

First published on 15.02.2021.