Salt extractor Nedmag is not allowed to reuse a salt extraction location in the Veenkoloniën near Tripscompagnie, just across the provincial border with Drenthe. This has been stated by the preliminary relief judge of the Council of State in a preliminary ruling.
In November last year, the court annulled Nedmag’s extraction plan, after objections from the Stop Zoutwinning foundation from Zuidlaarderveen, several municipalities in Drenthe and Groningen and local residents. However, State Secretary Vijlbrief of Climate and Energy appealed against this and adjusted the permits.
Opponents fear that Nedmag will already start with the new salt production with these modified permits. They want the court to freeze the decisions until a decision has been made by the Council of State. The Stop Zoutwinning Foundation points to a calamity from 2018, when brine and possibly diesel oil leaked from an underground cavern to overlying soil layers.
In a provisional ruling, the objectors were partly proved right today. The preliminary relief judge finds that winning again is not possible because the safety of local residents takes precedence over the economic interests of the salt producer. The government should at least have obtained a new opinion from the State Supervision about the cavern in the Veenkoloniën before Nedmag was given permission, according to the judge.
The judge has allowed Nedmag to use two new locations in Borgercompagnie and to work at a location where salt has been extracted before. This is a setback for local residents, because they fear, among other things, that drilling new wells will increase the risk of subsidence.
“Still, it feels like a victory for us. The well at Tripscompagnie poses the greatest risk of more soil subsidence,” says Jean Pierre Dessart of the Stop Zoutwinning foundation. “As far as we are concerned, Nedmag should put its hand in its own bosom and now only start phasing out. I think that would be a logical step.”
Dessart does not understand that it had to come to a lawsuit. “That huge leakage occurred in 2018 and after that Nedmag only won more. Normally you would say that you have to stop salt extraction after such an incident.”
Nedmag director Bert Jan Bruning says he is happy with the verdict. “We can start using our new sources. We have been working on this for a long time, because this procedure has been going on for five years. We are going into the weekend with a smile.”
Bruning does not want to lament too long about the fact that Nedmag is not allowed to use the location in Tripscompagnie for the time being. “The judge has indicated what she has missed in terms of arguments. We will take a look at that next week and then we will decide how to proceed.” Bruning is also thinking of accelerating the commissioning of the other wells.
The case is not yet over with the preliminary ruling. The substantive treatment will not be discussed until 2024 at the earliest. Due to the increase in the number of lawsuits and a shortage of personnel, the highest administrative court will not be able to handle the case this year.