Under the damage scheme that central government agreed with the mining companies, the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the gas company, has to pay just over €80,000 in total, between €537 and €16,178 per address. That already includes additional costs, such as for cleaning. According to the commission, this is not enough to repair the damage, and it also causes resentment, because the Instituut Mijnbouwschade Groningen (IMG), which handles claims in the Groningen gas field area, usually pays more.
The commission therefore wants to be able to compensate mining damage in full, even if part of it has another cause, and with an amount large enough to put the whole room right again, as under the IMG's scheme. That should also apply retroactively to the damage reported in Ekehaar and Hooghalen.
“This report feels like recognition for the residents of Ekehaar. It confirms what they, and we as a municipality, have been saying for some time: the scheme fell short,” says Anno Wietze Hiemstra, the mayor of Aa en Hunze.
The municipality expects an independent evaluation report soon, followed by a letter about Ekehaar from the minister to the House of Representatives.
Criticism from the municipality
The municipality disagrees with the report on two points. For one thing, the commission considers it logical that the rules here differ from those in the Groningen earthquake area, even though that area is only a few kilometres from Ekehaar. In Groningen, the IMG can pay out a fixed sum without an extensive investigation, or have the damage repaired instead of paying money.
“Whether you live in Groningen, Drenthe or Limburg: if damage has been caused or made worse by mining activities, it must always be compensated fully and generously,” says Hiemstra. “That should not depend on a postcode.”
The municipality also questions whether such an extensive investigation was needed. Just over €443,000 was spent on external investigators, not counting internal costs, while around €80,000 was paid out in damages. According to the municipality, that is out of all proportion.
“This could have been organised better in advance,” says Hiemstra. “With less bureaucracy and more focus on actual repairs.”
Mostly cracks in brickwork
In October 2023 there were three earthquakes at the Eleveld gas field, which according to the commission were caused by gas extraction there. By the end of 2024 the commission had received 67 reports of damage to buildings, and a firm of surveyors inspected 61 addresses on site. It mainly found cracks in brickwork and finishes and in joints between parts of buildings, almost always damage that was already there and had been made worse by the earthquakes. Because none of the buildings had structural damage, the residents were in no immediate danger.