The mining group RAG is said to have illegally piped pit water into the Ruhr, says the state association of those affected by mining. After a criminal complaint, the public prosecutor’s office in Essen sees initial suspicion and has started investigations.
Essen (dpa / lnw) – In connection with the discharge of mine water from the former hard coal mine into the Ruhr, the Essen public prosecutor’s office is investigating against those responsible for the mining group RAG. It is about the allegation of water pollution, said a spokeswoman for the authorities at the request of the German press agency dpa. The ongoing proceedings are based on a criminal complaint by the State Association of Mining Victims. “The investigations are ongoing, we do not want to comment on the details at the moment,” it said.
The State Association of Miners Affected (LVBB) reported on Monday that it had filed a complaint against RAG in January. The association accuses the former colliery operator of violating an ancillary provision of the discharge permit at the Heinrich site in Essen-Überruhr. This provision prohibits RAG from discharging mine water into the drinking water flow if the water flow rate is too low. According to the LVBB, RAG did this on a total of around 115 days in the years 2018 to 2020. According to the LBVV, the company accepted a risk to the drinking water supply. The RAG did not want to comment on the allegations and the investigations with reference to the ongoing proceedings.
As the LVBB further reported, in the same context it has also filed a criminal complaint against a department head in the Arnsberg district government responsible for mining in North Rhine-Westphalia. He is said to have “tacitly tolerated” the alleged behavior of RAG. The public prosecutor’s office in Essen said: “There is no complaint against an employee of the district government.”
The Arnsberg district government responded to a request with a statement. “At no time was the drinking water supply endangered by the discharge of mine water into the Ruhr at the Heinrich site,” the authority said. The allegations of the LVBB contradict the many years of experience that are presented, among other things, annually in the Ruhr Quality Report.
The authority referred to a background paper published by the NRW Ministry of the Environment. Accordingly, no relevant substance concentration increases caused by the mine water discharge were measured at the Heinrich site. The WDR had previously reported on the reaction of the district government.
Mine water is seepage water from deep rock strata, often contaminated with salts and chemicals, which accumulates in the unfilled cavities of the mines after the end of hard coal mining. To ensure that it does not get close to the drinking water layers when it rises, it has to be pumped out permanently.
