The public prosecutor’s office in Meiningen, Germany, has closed an investigation against representatives of K+S as well as against certain German authorities and ministries “due to lack of suspicion”, K+S said in a statement on May 3.
K+S reiterated that it “strongly rejects” the allegations made by the Meiningen public prosecutor’s office. The allegations were that “the company intimidated employees and the authorities and deliberately falsified measurements to obtain permits under water law for saline wastewater injection.”
“Since the allegations are completely unjustified and in no way supported by the facts, the proceedings had to be discontinued due to a lack of suspicion,” said the German company.
The case had been ongoing for a number of years before the investigation finally was discontinued in April this year, during which time K+S said representatives of authorities, ministries, and the company were exposed to accusations of unlawful conduct in the disposal of saline wastewater from potash production.
K+S said the Meiningen public prosecutor’s office investigation continued even after the initiation of the main proceedings were rejected by the Meiningen Regional Court in 2016 (GM Sep. 16, 2016), a ruling subsequently upheld by the Thuringian Higher Regional Court of Jena (GM May 26, 2017).
“In its business operations, K+S acts exclusively in accordance with the law. Both the alleged illegality of water law permits as well as the claimed intimidation of public authority employees lack any factual basis and arise solely from the imagination of the investigating public prosecutor,” said the German company.
K+S at the end of 2021 will discontinue the injection of saline wastewater into the plate dolomite. At the beginning of 2022, the underground storage of saline solutions in the Springen mine field will be used as a new local disposal route.
The company said it is working “intensively” to obtain the necessary permits during the course of this year after the state parliaments of Hesse and Thuringia approved the amendment of the state treaty on the cross-border mining of potash salts at the end of 2020. Securing the permits is an important prerequisite for the future disposal concept at K+S’ Werra plant.