Bonn, 15 February 2023. An amicable settlement was reached in a long‑standing dispute between the municipality of Dillingen/Saar and the Saarland mining company Josef Rupp GmbH & Co KG at the turn of the year, ending a legal quarrel that had lasted almost 20 years and made its way through the various court instances all the way up to the Federal Administrative Court. The row revolved around the scale of quartz gravel and quartz sand extraction in the Diefflen district of the city.
The negotiations, which were resumed in 2021 in the wake of a change in the governing coalition in the township, produced a compromise providing for a land swap, with first of all the so‑called “Kappesheck” area being permanently closed to mining, thus allowing this area to be preserved for the community as a recreation area in its semi‑natural state. At the same time, transfer of communal land in the so‑called “Großgarten” area will enable the Rupp company to expand its existing mining operations.
The procedure was supported by the lawyers Dr Matthias Ganske and Dr Dominik Snjka from the Redeker Sellner Dahs law firm, who contributed their expertise in mining and contract law on behalf of the city of Dillingen.
