Regulatory framework for the coal phase-out in Saxony

Overcoming the consequences of large-scale lignite mining will take decades. This applies in particular to the effects on the water regime associated with lignite mining. So-called eternity burdens may remain. In Saxony, the consequences of GDR lignite mining, which was shut down in the course of reunification (Coal phase-out I), are expected to continue for decades. The management of these consequences is the subject of the so-called lignite remediation. This overlaps with the upcoming implementation of the coal phase-out agreed in 2020 (Coal phase- out II). The regulatory frameworks of Coal phase- out I and Coal phase-out II in Saxony are fundamentally different. Accordingly, there are also different decision-making structures. The central substantive difference is that in the case of the coal phase-out decided in 2020, responsibility under mining law for the reutilization of the opencast mines, for mining damage, for dewatering and for any post-closure maintenance lies with the private opencast mine operators and not with the public sector. In order to avoid a divergence in the achievement of the same goals, coordination is advisable. This also applies to other land-intensive issues such as the rapid expansion of renewable energies.