The regional conferences play a significant role in the Site Selection Act: they are an important tool for extensively involving the public in the site regions at all times. They represent the interests of their region in the site selection procedure, inform the regional public and can also make applications for subsequent checks on suggestions made by BGE mbH (the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal). All persons in the relevant site region and neighbouring areas can take part in the regional conferences, according to Section 10 of the Site Selection Act.

Setup und operation

At the end of the first phase of the site selection procedure, BGE shall submit a recommendation to BASE for siting regions to be explored above ground. BASE shall examine this recommendation and set up a regional conference in each of the proposed regions.

The Site Selection Act stipulates that the work of the regional conferences be self-organised. For this purpose, BASE shall set up an office for the regional conferences and provide them with organisational and financial resources throughout the duration of the process. The detailed cooperation between the bodies of the regional conferences shall be governed by rules of procedure to be adopted by each conference at the beginning.

Composition and tasks

The regional conferences consist of a plenary assembly and a group of representatives. A business office is available to support their work.

Composition

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• Plenary Assembly
• Representative committee
• Council of regions

Plenary Assembly

Plenary assembly

All persons who are registered in the region in question or with a directly adjoining municipal authority, and who are at least 16 years old, can participate in the plenary assemblies. The participants of the plenary assembly elect the members of the representative committee and can be consulted on important decisions. Further details are regulated by the respective rules of procedure.

Representative committee

Representative committee

The representative committee is elected for a period of three years. According to the StandAG (German Site Selection Act), the number of the committee’s members may not exceed 30, and members can be re-elected twice. The representative committee adheres to its own rules of procedure and consists of one third each of members of the plenary assembly, representatives of different social groups, and representatives of the local authorities. If applicable, it may also include representatives of neighbouring areas whose interests are to be given equal consideration.

Council of regions

Council of regions

In the council of regions, representatives of all regional conferences deliberate with representatives of the interim storage sites. The council of regions keeps a supra-national eye on the processes of the regional conferences and helps to balance conflicting interests. It is set up by BASE and supported by an office at BASE.

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Tasks

The task of the regional conferences is to extensively involve the public in the long term, particularly in the affected regions. The regional conferences are an important participation format during the search for a disposal site, because they provide continuity in the procedure and a variety of organisational possibilities. They can, for example, submit applications for subsequent checks and issue statements about socio-economic potential analyses and suggestions made by BGE. They are also able to draw up concepts for regional development or inform and involve the local public, e.g. in the form of events. The regional conferences may obtain outside scientific expertise to provide technical support.

Once a region has been eliminated from the selection procedure, the associated regional conference will be wound up.