Complaint in the Mühlviertel

Controversial power line now a case for the courts

A dispute has broken out in the Mühlviertel region over the construction of such a 110-kv line.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger)

The discussion about the construction of a 110 kV overhead line from Rainbach to Rohrbach, which has been smouldering for years, could become a case for the courts. Opponents of the project speak of suspected abuse of office by the head of the current EIA procedure and have announced a criminal complaint.

In the EIA hearing, which began on 13 January, three citizens' initiatives, two environmental organizations and several affected municipalities are being represented by the Viennese lawyer Wolfram Proksch, among others. He stated on Thursday that "affected citizens had been systematically restricted" by, among other things, disregarding appropriate preparation and summons deadlines, according to the press conference documents.

Controversial new date
When it became apparent after eight days of hearings that further hearings were necessary, the head of the hearings is said to have scheduled further dates at the beginning of February on 29 January, at which "the legal representatives and private experts of those affected were known to be unable to attend", according to the accusation. In addition, the draft of the "100-page hearing protocol was only made available on January 30 after repeated requests".

Lawyer casts "massive doubt on the EIA process"
Proksch therefore casts "massive doubt on the EIA process". On behalf of his clients, he is expected to file a "criminal complaint at the end of next week on suspicion of abuse of office by deliberately curtailing fundamental procedural rights".

The Neos, organizers of the press conference, also criticized the EIA. Member of Parliament and Upper Austria's deputy provincial party spokeswoman Karin Doppelbauer sees this as "just further evidence of the provincial government's unworthy approach" and spoke of "official arbitrariness" instead of a transparent procedure. "In view of the countless harassments, citizens are rightly wondering why there is an EIA procedure at all if the result was already known in advance," she criticized.

Opponents in favor of underground cables instead of overhead lines
Opponents of the project by Netz Oberösterreich and Linz Netz want the planned connection to be constructed as an underground cable instead of an overhead line. The Mühlviertel Landscape Protection Interest Group put forward arguments relating to the landscape, tourism and health.

State opposes new idea
Most recently, the underground cable proponents raised hopes that the power line could be linked to the West Austria Gas Pipeline (WAG). The province had this examined, with a negative result: laying the gas and electricity lines in a trench was not eligible for approval. For safety reasons, the two parallel projects would have to run around 40 meters apart and this route would have to be kept clear at all times. In addition, it was said at the time that combining the two would lead to a further delay in the power line.