Updated

Cementa’s current permit for limestone mining in Slite expires at the end of October. The company’s application for an extended and extended permit was rejected by the Supreme Land and Environmental Court, which considered that the documentation was too deficient.

Cementa dominates the Swedish market and delivers approximately 75 percent of the cement used in Sweden from its factory in Slite.

In order to avoid Sweden suffering from a shortage of cement, the government announced in August its intention to implement a temporary amendment to the Environmental Code. This would give Cementa the opportunity to continue mining limestone in Slite for about eight months. In this way, the company would be able to absorb the volume of limestone that falls within the framework of the current condition.

A quick referral was sent out. Authorities and organizations had an extremely short time to respond, only four days. Deadline expired today, Friday 3 September.

“Becomes a chimera”

Just under 40 consultation bodies have responded to the flash consultation. The majority are positive to the proposal for a change in the law.

Two of the bodies that reject are Uppsala University and the School of Business at the University of Gothenburg stand out. Both are extremely critical of the short response time. Uppsala University writes that “the function of the referral institute itself will be a chimera if a reasonable time is not given”.

The School of Business, Economics and Law is concerned that the proposal, which means that a certain activity is granted an exemption, may have effects on citizens’ legal perception and the value of the constitution.

Jonas Ebbesson, professor of environmental law at Stockholm University, agrees.

– It is worrying that you legislate in an individual case. That’s not a good way. But the alternative is that we can stand without cement for a period. In the crisis situation we are in, I still find that the government has navigated in a way that is acceptable, he says to Ny Teknik.

The Government has pointed out that the change in the Environmental Code would mean that Cementa may mine the volume of limestone for which the company has already received a permit, and that it is only the time period for the mining that is extended.

“Worried if others start expecting the same treatment”

But the School of Business, Economics and Law raises the risk that the impact on groundwater may be extended over time, which may make it more difficult to achieve established environmental quality standards.

Uppsala University writes that the government’s bill is about regulating a legal relationship that has already been subject to judicial review. “The independence and autonomy of the courts seems challenging if the proposal were to be adopted.”

Vänersborg District Court also raises such concerns. “Unfortunately, questions are raised as to whether the bill is part of a development in which the government intervenes in the judicial activities in a way that has so far not been compatible with Swedish legal and administrative tradition.

Jonas Ebbesson himself has not responded to the referral. His assessment that the government has nevertheless balanced correctly in its bill is mainly that an extended permit does not increase the volume of limestone that has already been environmentally tested, and that the time extension is a one-time phenomenon and the change in the law is temporary.

– The concern is whether the change in the law can be perceived as some form of precedent, so that other companies, which are also the only player in an industry, begin to expect the same treatment, he says.

Cementa is working on new applications

The consultative bodies that are positive to the change in the law generally point out that major consequences would arise for several industries and the Swedish labor market if Cementa could not continue to produce cement in Slite. The industry association for mines and metal producers, Svemin, also takes the opportunity to emphasize that time-limited permits are not suitable for industry.

Cementa has also responded to the lightning referral and is positive to the change in the law, but thinks that it should apply for a longer period of time than until the end of 2021. In a press release The company writes that it is working on new applications for mining permits with a short and long horizon.