Stoisits: Inhabitants complain about quarry dust

TV SHOW of 10 September 2011 with OMBUDSWOMAN STOISITS

Quarry causes significant dust

A quarry in the district of Meidling in Paudorf, Lower Austria, has been the cause for anger among many of its neighbors. Major quantities of dust are continuously set free during the mining for granulites, a mineral used in street and railway construction. According to the neighbours the dust contamination has reached enormous proportions and presents major impairments.

The quarry managed by the Asamer Ltd has been in existence for 120 years. Each year between 700 000 and one million tons of stone are mined here. Meanwhile also a citizens’ initiative has come into being drawing attention to the dangers caused by the quarry.

Neighbours and citizens’ initiative accuse the Asamer Ltd of not taking the needed precautions to avoid dust and of ignoring existing guidelines. The company on the other hand stresses the fact of having invested over twelve million euros in the modernization: conveyor bands have been equipped with water sprinklers in order to reduce dust. The company also claims that the quarry is continuously reforested and even a swimming pond is being planned.

However it is not exclusively the dust and the traffic which bother the neighbours. What bothers them even more is the fact that the company is planning a second quarry in the proximity of Paudorf - in the so-called Hörfahrtgraben. Representatives of the Asamer Ltd claim that two quarries will not be operated at the same time. However an enlargement of the already existing quarry is planned. Father Maximillian Krenn, the prior of the Göttweig monastery and the representative of the owner sympathizes with the rejecting attitude of the neighbours. However during the broadcast he emphasizes the fact that the mining activities will continue in Paudorf – with or without a new quarry.

Two years before the city had agreed on deepening the existing quarry in hope of avoiding an enlargement, states the mayor of the city, Leopold Prohaska. The company has not yet officially applied for the permit of the planned enlargement in the Hörfahrtgraben with the local government. In case the enlargement should be authorized many Paudorfers fear that they will have to live with the restraints of a quarry in the future.

During the broadcast Ombudswoman Stoisits pointed out that presently the enlargement is impossible due to the lack of an according designation of areas. However the worries of the neighbours are well-founded. She also stressed that the Ombudsman Board will be observing all proceedings and future developments in case that complaints will be filed.

Follow Up: Sponsorship for Slovenian Music School

In October 2010 the Bürgeranwalt reported the story of representatives of the Slovenian minority who had complained to the Ombudsman Board about receiving less monetary aids from the local Carinthian government than other schools. The Slovenian music school supposedly received even up to four times less money per student than schools belonging to other Carinthian institutions.

The Slovenian music school was founded 32 years ago when bilingual parts of Carinthia were facing a scarcity concerning music schools in general and Slovenian speaking schools didn’t even exist. More than 6000 students have been trained in a variety of musical instruments over the years. At the time Ombudswoman Stoisits criticized that each year the provincial government of Carinthia let the school wait as well as the lacking legal certainty concerning monetary aid. The Federal Government on the other hand fulfilled its responsibilities, she claimed.

The developments in this case have been positive. The financing for the school has been guaranteed for the years 2011 and 2012 since the Federal Government will continue financing the school. Also the school will receive additional 500000 Euros coming from federal contributions provided for Carinthia.

Ombudswoman Stoisits however also stresses that the financing of the Slovenian music school has to be guaranteed beyond 2012 and points out that Carinthia is not at all involved in the provision of monetary aid. There is still a lot to do, states the Ombudswoman, and demands a quick realization of a systematic solution.