Dropping water tables are draining peatlands and killing the moor forest.
Gravel mining significantly lowers the ground water level. According to Mr. Gruschka, the 2m above the highest point of the ground water table stated in the “framework operating plan” is not met: it is only 1m. [Sächsische Zeitung, 14.11.2020]
Dumping of construction waste causes chemnicals and salts to enter the moor with the groundwater. The ecosystem is dying.
In the southwestern part of the Laußnitz 1 area, the excavated part is backfilled with off-site material. The water from these 2
tips is too rich in minerals and salts for the neighboring peatlands. The result: the (theoretically “protected”) ecosystem is dying.
Massive impact on nature and climate
Animals and plants, water and soil are damaged by gravel mining, associated forest clearing and subsequent trash dumping. Work involves driving up the inlets to the bogs and cutting off the bogs. This is not a theory, it has already happened in November 2020!
Large areas of forest will be lost due to deforestation, thus also their possibility to sequester CO².
Thats why we demand:
Old forest stands must be protected!
Deforesting an area the size of around 190 soccer fields no longer corresponds to the state of scientific research on climate change, and it is neither contemporary nor ecological.
Drinking water and groundwater protection must be guaranteed in the long term!
Here, too, substances from the dumping getting into the groundwater plays a major role. Constant monitoring should be a must. At the moment, we are still waiting for a hydrological report. It should have been ready and released in the spring of this year. It was commissioned by the mine operator.
