The contractor behind illegal excavation on a nature-protected slope at Vejle Fjord has been fined 10,000 kroner. The company has chosen to pay, which closes the case.
Sydøstjyllands Politi announced the fine in a press release, as reported by DR on August 20, 2026. The contractor carried out the earthworks on the protected slope by Vejle Fjord. With the payment, the criminal case is finally concluded.
The owner of the slope had already been fined 100,000 kroner for ordering the work and has paid that amount. Vejle Amts Folkeblad reported in April 2026 that the owner accepted the fine for nature damage, and that the slope had been partly restored at that point.
The excavation took place in spring 2025. According to DR, excavators and a bulldozer leveled the slope by pushing around 7,600 cubic meters of soil on the 3,800-square-meter plot. The area lies within the coastal protection line, where not even one cubic meter of soil may be moved without permission.
No such permission had been applied for or granted. The work was discovered when the earthmoving triggered a landslide that broke a sewer pipe in the area. Vejle Municipality then ordered the contractor to stop immediately.
The contractor continued despite the order, which is why the company was fined, Sydøstjyllands Politi states. DR reported in May 2025 that the municipality issued the stop order right after the sewer pipe broke. TV 2 reported later that month that both Vejle Municipality and Kystdirektoratet filed police reports over the earthworks.
Restoration completed in spring 2026
The owner also received an order to restore the slope. That work was completed and approved in spring 2026, according to DR. TV 2 reported in July 2025 that Kystdirektoratet had set a deadline of October 1 that year for the restoration of the slope at Brejning.
The size of the owner’s fine has previously drawn political criticism. SF’s legal affairs spokesperson, Karina Lorentzen, said at the time that 100,000 kroner was not much compared with the damage done to nature. She also said she feared it would not deter people like the owner in the case.
The prosecution service assessed that the 100,000-kroner fine was a large penalty. DR’s earlier coverage of the case in May 2025 noted that the environment minister wanted tougher penalties for the destruction of nature.
The two fines together amount to 110,000 kroner in the case. The contractor’s 10,000-kroner fine was the final outstanding legal step, according to Sydøstjyllands Politi.
