Credit: ANF
On Tuesday 20 September 2022, Luxembourg's Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development confirmed an incident involving spillage from a biogas plant in Gonderange.
According to the first information from the ministry, on Monday 19 September 2022, due to a defective seal, around 3,000 cubic metres of digestate (the material remaining after the anaerobic decomposition of biodegradable feedstock) leaked from the biogas plant. Following the incident, representatives of the Water Management Administration (administration de la gestion de l’eau - AGE), Environment Administration (Administration de l'environnement - AEV), Nature and Forestry Agency (Administration de la nature et des forêts - ANF), the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours - CGDIS) and the police were on the spot.
The largest part of the digestate ran into an adjacent field where it could be held back by creating a mud wall. By creating an another wall, a part could be diverted to a second digester and collected.
It was possible to prevent digestate from leaking into a body of water due to a quick reaction by CGDIS. The area is also not located in a groundwater protection zone and no digestate ran into the nearby biotope. The pollution could be contained quickly through a comprehensive approach.
The uncontrolled discharge of pre-digestate (digestion liquid) represents an infraction against environmental legislation and the public prosecutor's office was informed about the incident.
