Environmental protection in danger: gas drilling in Molln before the highest court!

Environmental protection in danger: gas drilling in Molln before the highest court!

Molln, Österreich - The planned gas bores in Molln ensure tensions between environmentalists and the operators. The environmental umbrella association criticizes the decision of the State Administrative Court of Upper Austria (LVWG Upper Austria), since in his view, this did not have sufficiently dealt with the possible violations of Union law. Together with the Nature Conservation Association of Austria, the Austrian Alpine Association and Greenpeace, the Environment Association has raised an extraordinary revision at the Administrative Court in order to question the legal basis of these holes. Oekonews reports that Franz Maier, president of the environmental roof association, warns that the test drilling is irreversible for flora and Could cause fauna in a species -rich nature area.

A central criticism of the environmental roof association is that the official examination did not take into account all strictly protected species that occur in the area. "The public has a right to find out whether the holes were lawful," continued Maier. It is also feared that the economic interests of an Australian mining company could outweigh nature conservation.

decision of the Constitutional Court

In an important judgment, the Constitutional Court (VfGH) has lifted the exclusion of the suspensive effect on complaints according to the Upper Austria Nature Conservation Act as unconstitutional. This judgment could lead to the temporary prevention of gas bores in winter 2024.

With immediate effect, the LVwG Upper Austria must revoke the decision of the nature conservation department of the state of Upper Austria, which had dismissed the suspensive effect of the symptoms. A new decision on the continuation of further tests of the operator has already been submitted to the authority, but the approval of the gas testing bore is not permitted due to unconstitutional basics. The § 43a of the Upper Austria Nature Conservation Act, which excludes the suspensive effect, is thus overridden, which could result in a reform of the law.

rights of environmental organizations

The recent decisions underline the strengthened rights of environmental organizations in species protection. The WWF emphasizes that the administrative court has increasingly recognized the rights of these groups in recent years. This could be an important turn in dealing with environmental issues in Austria.

In conclusion, it remains to be seen how the legal steps of the environmental organizations will influence the course of the gas bores in Molln. The efforts to protect both nature conservation and promote transparency are the focus.

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OrtMolln, Österreich
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