V a t t e n f a l l - Sweden´s other face

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In April 1993, Horno is placed under a preservation order that encompasses the entire village, its historic settlement structure and external appearance, as well as surrounding meadows and woodland.
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At a meeting of the Synod of the Protestant Church of Berlin and Brandenburg from April 15th-18th, 1993, which is attended by 250 delegates from all church districts, the following resolution is passed with just one dissenting vote and ten abstentions: "The Synod lays down its support for the declaration by the district synod in Guben concerning the preservation of Horno and further supports the parish of Horno in its decision not to sell church land."
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On September 23rd, 1993 members of the Brown Coal Committee [Braunkohlenausschuss] of the State of Brandenburg meet to consider and vote upon the Brown Coal Plan for the Jänschwalde mine. In the course of a preliminary public hearing procedure in the period from 14.5 to 13.7.1993, over 500 comments and statements on the Plan have been submitted. These statements have been gathered together according to their subject matter, but the objections had obviously not dealt with. Instead, committee members are presented with a list of "Important Unresolved Objections". These objections certainly are important: "Absence of an environmental impact assessment"; "Extent of groundwater drawdown"; "Threat to agricultural livelihoods"; "Destruction of extensive woodlands"; "Impact on drinking water resources", etc. But officially, these objections are quite simply ignored. At the conclusion of the meeting the Jänschwalde Brown Coal Plan is passed by majority decision.
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At the local elections in December 1993, Horno mayor Bernd Siegert is elected to the Rural District Council. In the same month, he is re-elected to the office of mayor by an overwhelming majority of the Horno people.
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On December 21st, 1993, the State Government postpones its planned binding confirmation of the Brown Coal Plans for the Jänschwalde and Cottbus mines because of legal doubts concerning the question of whether the approval of outline mining plans submitted by the LAUBAG Company require environmental impact assessments. The State Government commissions a legal opinion on this matter. Prime Minister Stolpe explains the Government's caution with the words: "We cannot afford to make a mistake".
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In the face of mounting pressure from the coal lobby, and in knowledge of the fact that the commissioned legal opinion contains bad news, on February 8th, 1994 the State Government throws caution to the wind and declares the Brown Coal Plans for the Jänschwalde and Cottbus mines to be binding.
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On February 16th, 1994, the commissioned legal opinion is handed over to the State Government. Its conclusion: Brandenburg strip-mines are projects requiring environmental impact assessments. Behind the scenes, the State Mining Office (Oberbergamt) tries to get LAUBAG to agree to carry out environmental impact assessments, to be on the safe side, knowing that legal disputes will in any case go on for years. But LAUBAG is determined to push through its maximum demands, and thereby maintain its controlling influence on state policy.
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