The plan for the Second Maasvlakte was originally approved in 2003, but claims were made by the fishery sector. Not enough was known as to the consequences for the ecosystem. Sand exploitation would disturb young flatfish and transport mud to the Wadden Sea. Definite permission was given for the plan in 2005 but it took till September 2008 for the construction company Havenbedrijf Rotterdam to begin. Even then, there were still appeals for three of the five licenses. The first container ships are expected in 2013.
The necessary 210 million cubic meters of sand will be extracted in an area outside of the coastal zone north and south of the Euro/Maas channel. Several dozens of million cubic meters of extra sand will also be needed to maintain the coast after the first years after completion. The extraction pits will be deep, as much as 20 meters, in order to limit the amount of disturbance on the surface of the sea floor. Areas where there is too much mud will be avoided.
Monitoring the effects on nature is taking place simultaneously. Mud dispersion will be followed via satellite, measurements will be made at sea and samples will be taken in and out of the extraction pit to determine the recovery rate of the bottom-dwelling animals. And for the first time in the Netherlands, the effect of the noise created by the construction works on marine mammals will be measured.
