K+S Group has secured the discharge permit from the Kassel Regional Council until the end of 2027, providing further security for the production of mineral fertilizers and high-purity salt products at its Werra and Neuhof-Ellers production sites. The current permit expires at the end of 2021.
Under the new discharge permit, the maximum annual discharge of saline wastewater permitted is reduced to 5 million cubic meters, down from the permitted 6.7 million cubic meters in 2021.
In addition, a limit value for chloride of 2,000 milligrams per litre (mg/l) will apply at the Gerstungen gauging station from Jan. 1, 2022; in 2023, this limit drops to 1,820 mg/l. For the years 2024 and 2025, the maximum permitted salt concentration is 1,700 mg/l. In 2021, the limit was 2,400 mg/l.
K+S said the new permit follows the target values set in mid-November by the Weser River Basin Community (FGG Weser) for the river management period from 2022 to 2027, and therefore is limited until the end of this period.
The company added that the goal of no longer discharging process water from potash production into the Werra River from 2028 onwards remains unchanged.
It sees in particular storage and tailings pile-covering as the two key components for ensuring environmentally compatible disposal in the Werra-Fulda potash district in the long-term, and for continuously contributing to an improvement in the water quality of the Werra and Weser Rivers.