Mourning in Steyregg

Environmental Protection Pioneer Sepp Buchner (84) Has Passed Away

He was a legend: Sepp Buchner died on Wednesday, September 30(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

His fighting spirit has been extinguished: Environmental protection pioneer Sepp Buchner (845) of Steyregg passed away on Wednesday. The former mayor and Green Party politician fought almost single-handedly in the 1980s against the massive environmental pollution caused by Voest and the chemical industry—and won.

“I can still remember as a little boy how my mother used to boil the white laundry in the 1970s and then hang it outside to dry. If the laundry was left outside too long and Voest blew out another cloud of dirty smoke, she’d have to wash the whole lot all over again. That didn’t change until Sepp Buchner took up the fight against air pollution,” recalls Gerhard Hintringer, SPÖ mayor of Steyregg, with deep gratitude for the great achievement of his predecessor’s predecessor at City Hall.

His livelihood was at stake
Josef Buchner had founded the “Steyregg Citizens’ Initiative for Environmental Protection” in the late 1970s. His fight against the constant smog caused by Linz’s heavy industry at the time threatened his very livelihood. Vöest sued him for more than a million schillings, but Buchner won the case. As a result, the industry installed filters, and the air quality in Linz and neighboring Steyregg improved significantly. Even in the 1980s, the infant mortality rate in the provincial capital remained above average.

Founding Member of the Greens
Buchner subsequently became involved not only in local politics but also at the national level with the United Greens of Austria. However, the collaboration with the Green Alternative fell through. In 1997, he became Austria’s first Green mayor in Steyregg. He remained mayor until 2012.

“Sepp has done a great deal for Steyregg; that must be acknowledged across party lines,” says Hintringer.