Municipality of Meerssen | Notification of Scope and Detail Level Note for the planMER for the Geul River Basin Programme

News item

From 20 March 2026 to 30 April 2026, anyone may respond to the 'Scope and Detail Level Note for the planMER for the Geul River Basin Programme'. This Note is the first step in the process to develop an environmental impact assessment plan (planMER) and describes what will be examined in the planMER and how this will be done.

Geul River Basin Programme and Scope/Detail Note/planMER

Within the Water Safety and Space Limburg programme, authorities in Limburg are collaborating to improve the water safety of regional waters. The authorities involved are: the Province of Limburg, Waterschap Limburg and the municipalities of Eijsden-Margraten, Gulpen-Wittem, Maastricht, Meerssen, Simpelveld, Vaals, Valkenburg aan de Geul and Voerendaal. For the Geul river basin, the eight participating municipalities, Waterschap Limburg and the Province of Limburg have initiated a procedure to develop a joint programme under the Environment and Planning Act. This is the 'Geul River Basin Programme'. This programme will include measures that together should lead to a safer Geul river basin.

For the Geul River Basin Programme, a planMER will be prepared. The programme will form the framework for the water management measures to be taken and the decision-making on these measures. This may involve decisions that are subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) obligation. In addition, an appropriate assessment must be carried out, as it cannot be ruled out that the programme will have significant effects on a Natura 2000 area; part of the Geul river basin has been designated as such. This is also a reason for preparing a planMER. As the first step in the planMER procedure, a Scope and Detail Level Note (NRD) has been drawn up. This NRD sets out which effects on the living environment will be examined as environmental impacts, at what level of detail this will be done and how the variants to be examined will be assessed in order to arrive at a preferred variant. The NRD guides the preparation of the planMER and was recently adopted separately by all the authorities involved. This notification provides everyone with the opportunity to respond to it.

Information meetings

You are cordially invited to the information meeting that the collaborating authorities will organise on 13 April 2026. During this meeting, you will receive information about the approach and planning of the programme and the associated planMER. More information about the meetings can be found at wachtnietopwater.nl/geul.

How can you respond?

You can respond to this NRD from 20 March 2026 to 30 April 2026. The document can be consulted digitally via 'View documents' (see the left column of this notification) and at wachtnietopwater.nl/geul. The document is also available for inspection during office hours at:

• the municipal offices of the municipalities of Eijsden-Margraten, Gulpen-Wittem, Maastricht, Meerssen, Simpelveld, Vaals, Valkenburg aan de Geul and Voerendaal in the usual manner and during opening hours;
• Waterschap Limburg, Maria Theresialaan 99, Roermond during its usual opening hours;
• the Government Building, Limburglaan 10, Maastricht, on working days from 7.30-18.30.

You can respond to the NRD in various ways

The Geul River Basin Programme is a programme jointly established by the eight municipalities mentioned above, the Province of Limburg and Waterschap Limburg.

By post

If you choose to respond by post, you are free to send your response to your own municipality (Executive Board), the Province of Limburg (Provincial Executive) or to Waterschap Limburg (Board of Directors). You do not need to write to multiple authorities; one response is sufficient. The registration of incoming responses is handled centrally by the Province of Limburg (WRL), after which they are shared with the municipalities and Waterschap Limburg involved. For this reason, the same postal address is used for all authorities involved: PO Box 5700, 6202 MA, Maastricht. Specifically, this means:

If you choose Meerssen Municipality, you should address your letter as follows:

Mayor and Aldermen of Meerssen Municipality
attn. WRL programme
PO Box 5700
6202 MA Maastricht

If you choose the Province of Limburg, the letter should be addressed as follows:

Provincial Executive of Limburg
attn. WRL programme
PO Box 5700
6202 MA Maastricht

If you choose Waterschap Limburg, the letter should be addressed as follows:

Board of Directors of Waterschap Limburg
attn. WRL programme
PO Box 5700
6202 MA Maastricht

Clearly state in your letter: 'Response to NRD Geul River Basin Approach' along with your name and address.

Digitally (by email)

You can respond digitally by email to postbus@prvlimburg.nl, addressed to the WRL programme, and stating 'Response to NRD Geul River Basin Approach'. Please also include your name and address in your email response (or any attachment). We prefer responses by email, as you will automatically receive a confirmation of receipt. These responses will also be shared with the municipalities and Waterschap Limburg involved.

Orally

You can provide your response by telephone during office hours on working days by calling 043 389 99 99. You can use this number to make an appointment to have your response recorded.

What happens to your response?

In all cases, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. Your response will be taken into account when deciding whether the process to develop the planMER needs to be adjusted and whether any aspects not yet mentioned need to be investigated further. We will inform all submitters via a response note about what has been done with the responses received.

Need digital assistance?

The collaborating authorities consider it important that everyone can participate. However, not everyone is equally comfortable with computers. That is why there are Digital Government Information Points. You can easily drop by these information points in libraries to ask questions about government websites. For example, to view documents related to this project on a computer. Ask about them at your local library.

More information

For any questions about the content of this notification, you can contact the service desk of the Province of Limburg by calling 043 389 9999 or by email.

Why is the Municipality of Meerssen publishing this item?

Government decisions on, for example, permits and regulations can affect your living environment. By publishing this item, we are informing you of the decisions we have made or plan to make.