Authority rules Weibern landfill plan needs environmental assessment

A planned construction-waste landfill in Weibern and Aistersheim, in Grieskirchen district, must undergo an environmental impact assessment, the responsible authority has ruled, ORF reported. The decision follows more than two years of opposition to the project.

The authority said the planned waste-treatment plant, part of the overall project, would process more than 35,000 tonnes of waste a year. That exceeds the relevant threshold, making an assessment mandatory. The review will examine effects on traffic, noise, air, soil, water and nature.

Upper Austria’s environment and climate councillor Stefan Kaineder of the Greens welcomed the decision, saying the project’s effects on people and the environment should be assessed transparently and on a sound technical basis. The company behind the project, Swietelsky AG, had not issued a response at the time of ORF’s report.

Representatives of a citizens’ initiative demonstrated against the project outside the Landhaus in Linz last week. All parties in the Upper Austrian state parliament subsequently backed an urgent motion calling for stricter rules for new construction-waste landfills, including checks on whether additional capacity is needed and greater involvement for municipalities.