Danmarks Sportsfiskerforbund says it will look into filing a complaint after politicians in Viborg voted Thursday to let Tangeværket keep drawing water from Tange Sø. The anglers’ federation argues the decision breaks the law.
According to DR, the Climate, Environment and Nature Committee in Viborg Municipality decided on Thursday that the hydropower plant may continue taking in water from the lake. Tangeværket, near Bjerringbro, is described as Denmark’s largest hydropower plant.
The chair of Danmarks Sportsfiskerforbund, Torben Kaas, told DR he will now examine the options for lodging a complaint against the decision. Per Kaas, the ruling is in direct conflict with the law, and he pointed to a habitat assessment of the water intake.
Habitat assessment at the center of the dispute
As reported by DR, Kaas said the habitat assessment of the environmental impact from Tange Sø and the water extraction for the plant is entirely unambiguous. In his reading, that assessment means the intake cannot be permitted. The federation has not yet said where or when a formal complaint would be filed.
Municipal officials in Viborg had recommended prohibiting Tangeværket from taking in water, citing nature considerations. Four out of five parties on the committee chose to go against that recommendation. The decision was taken on Thursday, one day before the anglers’ reaction became public.
The committee chair, Lars Mogensen of Liberal Alliance, played down the criticism in his comments to DR. He said it does not surprise him that others take a different view of the matter, and that such disagreement is to be expected.
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Mogensen also rejected the central claim from the federation. According to DR, he said he does not consider the decision to be an illegal one, and that there is nothing to pursue in the case. That leaves the two sides in open disagreement over the legality of the water intake.
What remains unresolved
The dispute now turns on whether the continued water intake can stand despite the habitat assessment. Danmarks Sportsfiskerforbund maintains that it cannot, while the committee chair maintains that the decision is lawful. No complaint had been filed at the time of DR’s reporting.
DR’s article does not name the four parties that backed the decision, nor the party that opposed it. It also does not state when the municipality’s permission for the water intake takes effect. The reporting was published on Friday, August 14, 2026, by DR journalist Lars Fjord Nielsen.
The case concerns both the operation of the plant and the condition of the surrounding nature, which was the basis for the officials’ recommendation in Viborg.
