Positive EIA decisions for Styria line!
The overhead line project submitted by VERBUND-Austrian Power Grid AG (APG) was today deemed to be environmentally friendly by the authorities in Styria and Burgenland. These positive decisions in the EIA process represent an important step towards the implementation of the urgently required 380 kV Styria line which will greatly enhance supply security not only in Styria and Southern Burgenland but also in Austria as a whole.
Commenting on the decisions issued by the authorities Dr. Heinz Kaupa und Mag. Thomas Karall, members of the APG Managing Board, explain: “These decisions represent an important step towards the maintenance of supply security and can also be seen as a strong signal for the industrial locations Styria and Burgenland. The careful and intensive preparation work carried out by our employees and our partners BEWAG and STEWEAG-STEG ensured that the authorities in both Länder were provided with a sound and comprehensive basis for their appraisal.” Expressing gratitude to the authorities on behalf of the project participants, Mag. Thomas Karall continues: “The officials of the respective provincial governments and the 26 experts appointed by the authorities have proved through this process, the largest EIA process ever to be carried out in the two Länder, that a difficult undertaking such as this can be handled in a fast and competent manner.”
The decisions will now be closely examined by the experts at APG and the project partners. Given the length of the authorities’ appraisal (345 pages), immediate comments on individual issues cannot be furnished at this time. Detailed comments relating to the individual issues and the conditions imposed will, however, be offered by the Managing Board of APG and the partners STEWEAG-STEG and BEWAG at press conferences in Graz and Eisenstadt on 6 April 2005. The primary objective focuses, in any case, on implementing the project in the closest possible cooperation with the municipalities.