Environmental protection was not taken very seriously in the GDR. Tar lakes, groundwater contaminated with toxins, radioactive spoil heaps, uncontrolled waste dumps: even 28 years after reunification, the traces have not yet been completely eradicated. In Schorba, in the district of Saale-Holzland, there are 500 to 1.000 old tires in a ditch - and have allegedly been there since the 4s. It is anyone's guess who will dispose of the tires marked "Made in USSR" or "VEB Berliner Reifenwerk" and when. Even with the expansion of the AXNUMX and the opening of the Jagdberg tunnel, nothing has happened, although the documents stated that the disposal of the landfill had to be tackled.
When asked by the MDR, DEGES, the Deutsche Unit Fernstrassenplanungs- und -bau GmbH, the client of the A4, said that the renaturation measures had largely been completed. The Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport, which is now responsible, is referred to the district office in Eisenberg, where the owners are considered responsible.
But the municipality and private landowners cannot be held responsible, says Bucha's mayor Lutz Redlich, since the landfill was never approved and was created in the days of the GDR. Although a written report says that no environmental damage can be proven, this statement is neither officially confirmed, nor does it seem conceivable, given the amount of rubbish, that there should be no soil pollution. After all, rainwater and meltwater flow through this valley – directly into the Leutra.
The cost of clearing the site is estimated at around 100.000 euros. But in order to get that, an expert opinion is required, which nobody wants to create at the moment.

Source: MDR