27 Oct 2023 at 15:37
From next year, Limburgers can receive compensation for minor and major damage to their homes as a result of coal mining. The last coal mine in the province closed in 1974, but damage is still visible in some homes.
The owners of around ten thousand homes are expected to be eligible for compensation. The homes with the heaviest damage are treated first. Afterwards, lighter damage can be reported, such as cracks in walls.
Home owners can report the damage to a special counter, after which they will receive a supervisor for their case. The Mining Damage Committee assesses the damage and determines whether it is likely to have been caused by mining. Assigned compensation up to 5,000 euros will be paid. Larger damages up to 20,000 euros will be repaired by a contractor.
State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining) is pleased that the recovery fund is now available. “Because Limburgers did not ask for cracks or subsidence. With this method, residents are relieved as much as possible and the damage is neatly repaired.”
The ten mining municipalities are Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen, Brunssum, Beek, Beekdaelen, Kerkrade, Landgraaf, Simpelveld, Stein and Voerendaal. Residents of those municipalities can apply.
The Dutch government began to phase out coal production in 1965. Coal was last extracted from a Dutch mine in Heerlen on December 31, 1974. With the closure of the mine in Heerlen, centuries of mining in South Limburg came to an end.
Miners remove coal from a Dutch mine for the last time on December 31, 1974. Photo: ANP2:02Play button
How polluting is coal?
Sep 24, 2023 at 10:44 p.m
France stops coal, last two power stations closed before 2027
15 Jun 2022 at 23:59
According to inspection, there is no evidence that Tata Steel discharges coal residues into the sea
Image: ANP
Read more about:
Coal Domestic
2023-10-27 13:37:00
#Fifty #years #coal #closed #Limburgers #report #damage #Domestic
