A major lignite (brown coal) mine in eastern Germany will have to halt regular operation on 1 September after a court ruled the mine’s owners failed to prove its environmental safety. The administrative court in Berlin found that LEAG, operator of the mine Jänschwalde in the eastern state Brandenburg, could not demonstrate its mining operations do not have a damaging impact on the region’s ground water supply and thus fall short of environmental protection regulations, according to CleanEnergyWire.

The NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH) had brought the case against LEAG’s operating plan, arguing it threatened protected swamp and wetland areas in the region. “LEAG meanwhile has admitted that it is very difficult to prove how a continuation of mining operations can be reconciled with conservation goals,” DUH’s Sascha Müller-Kraenn said.

LEAG requested an extension of the September deadline until the end of November, arguing that compliance with the “substantial” bureaucratic requirements of environmental safety licenses would take more time. “There’s too little time for an adequate and thorough examination,” LEAG said.