On Tuesday, 11 March 2025, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) invited representatives from municipalities bordering interim storage facilities for radioactive waste to a working conference in Berlin. Fourteen mayors from interim storage regions met with the President of BASE, Christian Kühn, and staff from various specialist departments to discuss options for municipal involvement – the focus was on the ongoing search for a repository site for high-level radioactive waste and the upcoming extensions of interim storage permits in the coming years.  

In the repository site search, which was relaunched in 2017, interim storage municipalities will have the opportunity to contribute their interests to the process through the participation format “Specialist Conference – Council of Regions” once the further site regions to be investigated have been determined by the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) at the end of 2027. 

Although this participation right still lies in the future, the municipalities affected already today assume a task of nationwide importance by hosting interim storage facilities. For this reason, it is a key concern for BASE to enter into a trusting and continuous dialogue with the interim storage municipalities at an early stage. The working conference in Berlin marked the starting point for this dialogue.  

The exchange on issues of final and interim storage clearly showed that interim storage municipalities see themselves as driving forces behind a safe and prompt repository search. For BASE, they are competent partners and important multipliers in informing the public. 

In his contribution to the discussion, BASE President Christian Kühn emphasised the importance of procedure duration for safety in light of extended interim storage and highlighted the Office’s commitment to accelerating the search process: “BASE is committed to ensuring that a repository site is designated by the middle of the century. We are currently developing specific proposals for accelerating the site selection procedure and for a possible amendment of the Site Selection Act in phases II and III by the legislature. In doing so, the fundamental principles of the procedure must, of course, be upheld: scientific rigour, transparency and participation,” Kühn stressed.

Background information on the event: The working conference in Berlin on 11 March 2025 marked the beginning of a continuous dialogue between representatives of BASE and the interim storage municipalities. As part of the repository search, BASE is responsible for involving the interim storage