Cementa: "We start two new permit processes"

On Wednesday, it was clear that the Supreme Court will not grant leave to appeal in the case of continued and expanded extraction and water activities in Slite on Gotland.

- It is unfortunate that you do not want to try this, as there are important questions of principle about how an environmental test should take place, says the company's sustainability manager Karin Comstedt to SVT.

Depending on the government

The announcement means that Cementa is completely dependent on the government pushing through an amendment to the Environmental Code in order to give the company a temporary deadline.

The government has promised such a message, but where a round of consultations and a bill is required that must be approved by the Riksdag.

At the same time, Cementa will now start two parallel permit processes because it is legally back on square one.

It is partly about applying for a new long-term permit, which will require a new, more comprehensive environmental impact assessment.

The environmental impact statement was exactly what the Supreme Land and Environmental Court rejected this summer.

But the process of applying for a new long-term permit is expected to take many years.

Therefore, the company also wants to apply for another shorter permit, which will apply for the next three to five years, according to Karin Comstedt.

Cementa hopes that the court can be content with less comprehensive environmental impact assessments for such a permit.

But even this will take at least a year, which is why the risks are still great that the company will find it difficult to deliver cement as usual.

Secured new deliveries

The company has already secured certain deliveries of lime from Nordkalk, which also mines on Gotland.

However, some new permits are required to use that raw material in the cement factory, according to Karin Comstedt.

Importing lime is also an option that is being reviewed in order to manage the supply of lime, which is the most important raw material in cement production, in the short term.

But in the long term, according to Karin Comstedt, it is not a sustainable business model to continue operations on Gotland if you do not also get the opportunity to mine lime there.