Stoisits: District Heating Plant Klagenfurt – a long way to improved air quality for citizens

District Heating Plant Klagenfurt – a long way to improved air quality for citizens

ORF-Series "Bürgeranwalt" (“Advocate for People”) – Broadcast of May 3th, 2008

Complaints about the adverse environmental effects caused by the district heating plant Klagenfurt, fired by heating oil for 60 years, and the proposed new construction of a gas-fired large-scale power plant on the border with the neighbouring borough of Ebenthal were the topics of discussion. Several public campaigns demanded reconstruction of the old combined heat and power station or a new combined heat and power station, within proportion and not oversized.

The representative of the office of the Provincial Government of Carinthia, who was present, referred in connection with the proposed new construction of the gas-steam power station to the required environmental impact assessment, where all the concerns of the public campaigns would be investigated. The representative of the public campaigns firstly criticized that no alternatives regarding size or utilization of alternative energy sources for the proposed new plant had been considered and secondly that the authorities had not commissioned reconstruction of the old existing plant. The complaint had been filed with the Office of the Ombudsperson on the grounds of the length of the reconstruction procedure.

Ombudsperson Stoisits pointed out that nothing had happened up to now and the adverse effects from the existing old district heating plant remain unchanged. In fact, the municipal authority of Klagenfurt in its decision of 9 August 2007 granted permission for the operation of the non-reconstructed old plant until 2015, pursuant to the provisions of the Emission Protection for Boiler Plants Act. One month later the Governor of Carinthia cancelled this decision but did not order any other or alternative measures. Ombudsperson Stoisits commented again: "Nobody knows what is going to happen next! Time is passing and the problem remains."

There is one a silver lining on the horizon: In the reconstruction procedure which has been pending at the Senate for Environmental Impact for over a year, a date for the hearing has been determined following the intervention of the Ombudsperson.

The decision of the Senate for Environmental Protection is still pending, however. Time is passing and the problem persists!