K+S: Salt wastewater into the Werra by 2039? Environmental groups are sounding the alarm!

K+S: Salt wastewater into the Werra by 2039? Environmental groups are sounding the alarm!

K+S, the well-known fertilizer manufacturer from Kassel, plans to continue to discharge saline wastewater from its potash production into the Werra after 2027. The company had originally announced that from 2028 it would only discharge wastewater from tailings dumps. But company spokesman Johannes Rützel explained the change in direction with optimistic expectations for salt reduction in the management planning of the Weser river basin community. The proposed discharge could run until 2039, which is being noted with concern by residents and environmental associations, because the Weser, which flows from Werra and Fulda into Hann. Münden is also affected, as is the case daily news reported.

With regard to the upcoming approval procedures, K+S submitted an application for a scoping procedure to the Kassel regional council in mid-October. This procedure makes it possible to define the investigative framework for the environmental impact assessment. A final decision on the actual application to discharge saline wastewater is expected to be made in 2027. In this context, the company plans to discharge both dump and process wastewater into the Werra and maintain the current limit values ​​for chloride, potassium, magnesium and sulfate, which is a concern for environmental associations such as BUND Hessen.

Concerns from environmental groups

The criticism doesn't just come from environmentalists. Thomas Norgall, a representative of BUND Hessen, criticizes the fact that K+S cannot provide a reliable disposal concept and calls for a gradual reduction in salt water pollution. In addition, planned measures to reduce salt, such as the controlled flooding of the former Springen mine, were not approved for safety reasons.

In order to obtain approval for discharge, K+S also states that there will be a new distinction between high and low mineralized water in order to adapt the process accordingly. However, it remains to be seen how the 198 public bodies included in the scoping process will react to the proposals. In particular, the public will be keeping an eye on how K+S will manage the environmental impact of discharges, as the company has reduced wastewater volumes by 80 percent since 2000 and plans to switch to dry processing by 2028.

While all eyes are on the Kassel regional council, it is clear that K+S has made a strategic change of course. The pending application to discharge saline wastewater raises questions, and it remains to be hoped that the voice of the environmental associations will be heard so as not to endanger the future of the Werra and the entire river system. Because there is something important here - not just for nature, but also for the people who live near these waters.