OVG allows expropriation: coal mining in Nochten continues

The Nochten opencast lignite mine in eastern Saxony can continue without restriction. The expropriation of a private piece of forest for open-cast lignite mining is therefore permitted. "The decision is incontestable", announced the Saxon Higher Administrative Court (OVG).

The legal dispute concerns a private forest plot near Rohne, a district of Schleife (Görlitz district). It has been leased to an environmental group since 2019, which claims to organize cultural and educational activities there.

The energy company Leag is planning to excavate the area for the expansion of the Nochten open-cast mine. As the owner does not want to sell the land, the energy company has applied for the land to be ceded on January 1, 2026, which is a form of expropriation under mining law. The Saxon Mining Authority granted the application. The owner had taken legal action against this.

Schedule for coal phase-out is clearly regulated

The OVG's decision had already been issued on December 10, and the court has now set out its reasons. According to the court, the neighbor's application was rejected because her main argument that the opencast mine was neither compatible with the Federal Climate Protection Act nor the constitutional requirement of climate protection was not convincing. The roadmap for phasing out coal is regulated for each opencast lignite mine and each individual power plant. Accordingly, the Boxberg and Schwarze Pumpe power plants were not to be decommissioned until the end of 2038.

"With reference to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Senate considers this statutory provision to be constitutional," the OVG stated. Furthermore, the public interest in the unrestricted maintenance of the power supply by the two power plants, for which there is no sufficient coal substitute supply, outweighs the interests asserted by the applicant.

The Nochten opencast lignite mine has been in operation since 1968 and the lignite extracted is used to generate electricity in the Boxberg and Schwarze Pumpe power plants.