One of the largest drug labs ever in Central Netherlands was accidentally discovered in March 2020 at Spoorlaan 35 in Overberg, Utrechtse Heuvelrug. Four years and € 2.1 million later, the land will soon be put up for sale for residential construction.
The lab where synthetic drugs were produced was set up in a detached house of 144 m² with a large plot of land surrounding it. Nearby were ponds and a flowering forest with Rhododendrons. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the forest, because the soil was so contaminated that a major remediation operation was necessary.
The contaminants in the soil and groundwater had spread over an area of more than 3,000 m² and to a depth of more than 4 meters. During the remediation, almost 10,000 tons of highly contaminated soil was removed and 70,000 cubic meters of groundwater was extracted and purified.
The remediation costs ultimately amount to € 2.1 million, but these costs cannot be recovered from the owners of the drug lab, who have now been stripped bare. The province of Utrecht has requested and received a specific contribution (SPUK) from the government for the remediation.
Deputy Water and Soil of the province of Utrecht Has Bakker: “It is sad to see that the production of drugs has caused such major contamination in the soil. It is really terribly harmful to the environment and incredibly expensive to get such an area clean again.”
Plot for sale at the end of April
After four years, the soil remediation is complete and the plot can be sold. The soil and groundwater of the plot are now suitable for use again for the residential function with a garden. A real estate agent will offer the plot from the end of April. Legal proceedings are still ongoing against the perpetrator of the pollution.
“No one is waiting for this, you did not cause it and yet as a municipality you have to do something,” says Anouk Haaxma, councilor of the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug. “We are glad that as a municipality we were not alone. The remediation has been made possible together with the province of Utrecht and the government. This cost about €2 million, which ultimately had to be paid for by the taxpayer. A waste of all that money.”
