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Negative EIA for further Asamer clearing

A gravel plant in Desselbrunn (symbolic image) is to be expanded

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

With a negative result, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Upper Austria has averted the clearing of 7.4 hectares of forest for the expansion of the Asamer gravel plant in Desselbrunn. Explosive: The area is located next to the Ehrenfeld II industrial construction area in Ohlsdorf, where the clearing of almost 19 hectares of forest in 2021 was "not carried out properly" according to the ACA report.

Criminal investigations into Hans Asamer's project are still ongoing, according to ORF. The new project was applied for by son Manfred Asamer. It is the first time in Upper Austria that an EIA procedure has ended with a negative decision.

Forestry law was the decisive factor
"Forestry regulations were the decisive factor, the requirements for further clearing in the area are not met," the EIA authority confirmed to APA. The expert opinion came to the conclusion that there was a special public interest in preserving the forest. The decision has already been delivered and will be made public on Thursday. "We assume that it will be contested with an appeal," it said. There is four weeks to do so.

Gravel extraction missed
In addition to the controversial company construction area next door, where the clearing should never have taken place according to the audit by the Federal Audit Office, there is another reason for the negative decision, according to the ORF: 4.5 million tons of gravel could have been extracted from Ehrenfeld II after the clearing. This was not done. The decision states that it is incomprehensible that the same gravel works is now applying for gravel extraction right next to it.

Mandatory from 20 hectares
Environmental impact assessments are mandatory in Austria for large-scale projects over an area of 20 hectares. According to the ORF report, an EIA was necessary in the case of the 7.4 hectare clearing that has now been applied for because it involved an expansion of the existing gravel plant in Desselbrunn and the gravel extraction there would have exceeded a total clearing area of 20 hectares. For Ehrenfeld II, Hans Asamer, as the project applicant, had deforested just below this area limit at the time, thus avoiding the EIA.