Court rejects complaints about the increase in the pitch water - what now?

Court rejects complaints about the increase in the pitch water - what now?

The Saarland Higher Administrative Court (OVG) rejected the complaints of several mayors and community representatives against the increase in the upper water in a current decision. This decision was made in the summer of 2023, the judgment was announced.

The municipalities concerned, including the city of Lebach and the municipalities of Saarwellingen and Nalbach, had sued the plan approval decision of the Oberbergamt of 2021, which is to provide the gradual part of the former mines. This decision has far -reaching consequences and stirs up fears among the plaintiffs.

fear of the released communities

The plaintiffs feared that the ancient water rise in the mine could lead to damage to municipal buildings and facilities. In addition, they expressed concerns about possible soil surveys, vibrations and the endangerment of groundwater quality from gas leaks. However, there was an all -clear in the statements of the experts who were heard as part of the procedure: According to the OVG, there are no serious damage to municipal structures in the municipalities concerned.

In the oral reasoning, the judges also pointed out that the probability of health -threatening extermination is assessed as low. A threat to the drinking water could not be determined.

Legal dispute and possible future

Despite the rejected complaints, the judgments are not yet final. The inferior municipalities have the opportunity to submit a non -admission complaint to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. This option is currently being considered, since the lawyer of the municipalities is waiting for a detailed justification of the OVG before making a decision.

In the past, the municipality of Merchweiler had unsuccessfully followed a similar legal process in the summer of 2024. The Higher Administrative Court had not approved a revision on this matter, which now puts the municipalities concerned in a difficult situation.

The Saarland state government approved the partial flooding of the former mines under conditions in 2021. The court confirmed the legality of the planning approval decision granted and emphasized that the mine water concept is evaluated positively for ecological and economic reasons. The RAG, the company behind the mine water project, sees itself confirmed by the judgment in its legal opinion and described the decision as an important step in the implementation of the mine water concept, as RAG press spokesman Christof Beike explained.

Currently there are still 15 contradictions against the final operating plan at the Oberbergamt, which is to be decided promptly. The developments on this matter are therefore to be seen and could result in further legal disputes.

For further information on this topic, we refer to the reporting of n-tv and SR .

For a more comprehensive view of the background, I recommend visiting the website . .