Brown Coal Moves In

A Romanesque-style stone church arrived Wednesday at its new home in eastern Germany after being evicted from the spot it had occupied for at least 700 years. On Oct. 25, the Emmaus Church in the village of Heuersdorf, near Leipzig, was loaded onto a huge flatbed trailer for 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) trip to the neighboring town of Borna. The 750-ton church was inched into its new home in time for Reformation Day on Wednesday, when Lutherans traditionally honor the 16th-century church reformer Martin Luther.

The church had to be moved because Heuersdorf is about to be dug up. The Mibrag mining company spent 3 million euros ($4.2 million) to move the church after the regional legislature approved plans to mine the ground Heuersdorf sits on to get at some 50 million tons of lignite, or brown coal, to supply a nearby power station. Village authorities fought the plan for years but lost their appeal in Germany's Constitutional Court in 2005.

DW-WORLD.DE talked with Heiner Krieg from MIBRAG about the relocation of the village's residents.

DW-WORLD.DE: Mr. Krieg, how many of the Heuersdorf residents have already been relocated?

Heiner Krieg: Originally, just over 300. Now there are about 60 still living there. Most of them will be relocated by the beginning of March next year. The remaining 20 or so will move by the end of 2008 to another location.

Are the moves going according to plan or have there been problems with the residents?

No, it's going according to plan. We're in agreement with the citizens. There are certainly discussions here and there, but essentially they've all agreed to relocate. Everyone has their new plot of land and they know where they're going to build, or have already started building.

There's a small town called Hagenest where many of the residents are moving. The structural work on the houses has already been completed there, which is why we're hopeful that a large part of the relocations can take place in March.

What do the residents receive as compensation?

They receive a whole package. First of all there's the house, which is not estimated at the market price but at replacement value. This amount is currently significantly higher, particularly in eastern Germany.

All together, the compensation package is worth between 110,000 and 120,000 euros (about $159,000 to $173,000), in addition to the house. This includes engineering work, connection fees, notary fees, lawyer fees, moving costs, etc.

Why does MIBRAG find it necessary to expel people from their homes?

We can't decide how nature formed the deposits. The problem is that Heuersdorf lies on an area with good coal. The various interests at stake are balanced and taken into consideration and, according to the law, the minority has to accept the interest of the majority. We know that this is a burden for the minority and we're doing everything humanly possible to make the situation easier.

We are frequently asked this question, but I have to say that many people have also left this area because there weren't any jobs. And no one asks about those people.

We're grateful to all of the Heuersdorf residents who said from the beginning that they were willing to make the sacrifice for the common good in exchange for fair compensation. Then there were the rest who said they weren't interested at all.

You mentioned high unemployment in the region. Are Heuersdorf residents also employed in the mines?

Yes, we have employed Heuersdorf residents before, when possible. Of course others work elsewhere, but where we've been able to help, we have.

It's well known that both mining and burning brown coal are harmful to the environment. How can MIBRAG justify establishing more mines?

This isn't a new mine but the continuation and maintenance of one of the most modern power plants in existence. It has so been seen from this perspective. I don't think that Germany will turn away from nuclear power and from brown coal at the same time. That would send Germany back to the Stone Age.

So you don't foresee an end to brown coal?

No. It's a question of technology, above all. Companies have to be given time to change their technology. Currently, that's happening by building new plants. We have attained significantly higher efficiency and, therefore, lower CO2 emissions. The shutting down of old brown coal plants and the building of new ones has brought Germany far in cutting CO2 -- nothing else.

Does MIBRAG invest in alternative energy?

MIBRAG is a coal distributor. That's not our job. Our job is to provide coal to large power plants.