Lins says governor misread power line nature review

Vorarlberg nature conservation lawyer Katharina Lins has rejected criticism of an environmental assessment for the planned replacement of the Herbertinger power line, telling ORF that Governor Markus Wallner had misunderstood the procedure.

The line carries electricity from southern Vorarlberg to Germany. Its ageing pylons are due to be replaced, but plans have been delayed by a nature conservation assessment, to Wallner’s frustration.

Lins said it was standard practice for an expert to assess a project’s effects on nature. The work would require storage areas, heavy machinery and large construction facilities, she said, all of which would have negative impacts. A finding that the project would affect nature did not mean it would be blocked, she added. Authorities must weigh the relevant interests, while ensuring nature conservation is maintained.

Project manager Christof Burtscher said the operator, illwerke vkw, had expected delays and had worked to improve the plans, particularly regarding nature conservation. He said the company remained confident it had developed a good project.

A group of residents in Lochau has collected several hundred signatures against the project and filed a lawsuit. The group has proposed either building a second power line over the Pfänder or putting power cables in a tube through the Pfänder Tunnel. Spokesman Matthias Fritton said the group was not opposed to the project but wanted better setbacks for about 1,500 people living along a corridor roughly 50 metres wide.