The Swedish Land and Environmental Court of Appeal has announced on 11 September its rejection of Nordkalk’s permit application including conditions for the planned limestone quarry Bunge Ducker 1:64 on Northern Gotland.
Nordkalk received a permit including conditions for the operations in 2014, but since the Swedish government decided to protect the area as a Natura 2000 area before the permit gained legal force, the preconditions have now changed.
The Court has based its deliberations on the new conditions resulting from the Swedish government’s decision on Natura 2000. Since a large part of the natural habitat Karst, that the government wanted to protect, is within the extraction area, the Court finds that the operations cannot be carried out without harming the natural habitat. The Court also rejects Nordkalk’s petition to seek a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU.
