Chloride limit lowered: K + S receives "gallows period" for its wastewater

Reduced chloride limit
K + S receives "gallows period" for its wastewater

The potash group K + S channels its wastewater into the Werra, among other places. In the spring, the group had to admit that it would not be able to meet agreed environmental targets and referred to thousands of jobs. Now politics is granting a new permit. But that probably only postpones the problem.

Just a few days before the old permit expired, the Kassel potash group K + S received a new permit for the disposal of saline wastewater in the Werra. The regional council of North Hesse has given the company the appropriate permission for the Hessian-Thuringian plants Werra and Neuhof-Ellers for 2021, the authority said. However, the new regulation contains slightly stricter environmental regulations.

In future, K + S will be able to dispose of less salt in the Werra, which flows into the Weser. The limit value for chloride has been lowered from 2.5 to 2.4 grams per liter of water. The authorities said the values ​​for magnesium and potassium had also been reduced somewhat. District President Hermann-Josef Klüber spoke of a "well-balanced balance between economy and ecology".

The approval is of considerable economic importance for K + S. Production in the potash district depends on the disposal of wastewater. The Werra is an important way to achieve this. The permit is good news for the employees, said K + S boss Burkhard Lohr: "It shows that our extensive investments and measures to further relieve the burden on the environment are recognized, and is also an incentive to initiate further improvements in the future . "

The discharge is criticized by environmentalists because of the serious consequences for ecosystems and groundwater. The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) Hessen called the one-year permit a "gallows period". K + S now has a year to adjust its disposal to the requirements of the official management plan. Thomas Norgall, deputy BUND country manager, announced a thorough technical and legal review of the approval.

In the spring, K + S declared that it would not be able to comply with the lower values ​​agreed with politicians for the next few years and pointed out that 5,300 jobs were directly linked to production in the Werra region. The state governments in Lower Saxony, Thuringia and Hesse reacted negatively. Negotiations on the issue will continue in the coming year. Because then a decision should be made on the discharge permit from 2022 to 2027. The countries bordering the Weser want to decide on a new management plan for the river beforehand. This will also deal with the issue of limit values.

. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) K + S (t) Environmental Protection (t) Hessen