Thuringia in court: the settlement of the potash contamination is in jeopardy!

Thuringia in court: the settlement of the potash contamination is in jeopardy!

Thuringia is suing the Federal Administrative Court in the legal dispute over the financing of safety work in disused potash mines. The oral hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 26th at 9:00 a.m. in Leipzig. At the heart of the proceedings is the question of whether the federal government has to contribute to the millions in costs for cleaning up the environmental contamination of the potash industry, as [Süddeutsche] reports.

Thuringia has been fighting for years against the sole obligation to pay for security work. The state government has already made several advance payments and pays a double-digit million sum annually for safety work in the disused Springen and Merkers mines in the Wartburg district. According to Environment Minister Tilo Kummer, a decision could be made on the day of the negotiations, but this depends on the course of the discussion.

Renovation costs and contracts

Thuringia would like to examine the possibility of renegotiating a general contract that was concluded with the federal government in 1999. At that time, the federal government exempted mining companies from security costs and provided a fixed amount for security work, which has now been used up. The current costs of between 16 and over 20 million euros per year represent a significant burden, accounting for around 10% of the Ministry of the Environment's budget.

Kummer emphasizes the urgency of the lawsuit and points to the inadequate cost forecasts in the contract with the federal government. In his opinion, these were set too low, which further exacerbated the financial situation for Thuringia. In comparison, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have benefited from better clauses in their general contracts for contaminated sites.

Environmental hazards and challenges

The safety work is necessary to prevent problems such as cave collapses that result from potash mining in the GDR. In particular, a water intrusion in the Springen mine poses additional challenges. Thuringia sees the ecological follow-up costs of GDR mining not only as a state responsibility and is pushing for the federal government to return to cost sharing.

The lawsuit is directed against the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks, which is the successor to the Federal Agency for Special Tasks Related to Associations. The upcoming oral hearing is eagerly awaited and could be decisive for the future distribution of costs between Thuringia and the federal government. At a time when environmental protection is becoming increasingly important, Thuringia sees this issue as essential in order to finance the ecological burden sustainably and fairly.