The Sauerlach community’s fight against further gravel quarrying in the village is entering a new round. This time the so-called Fesl pit between Sauerlach and Arget, west of the railway tracks, is affected. Here, the Gruber company not only wants to dig deeper and more extensive gravel than previously approved. The company would also like to backfill more heavily contaminated material there – in addition to only uncontaminated excavated soil, pre-sorted rubble and track ballast would also be allowed. The local council’s building committee has already rejected the associated application twice. Now, however, the district office has announced that it will withdraw this veto and approve the project instead of the municipality. The municipal council reacted with incomprehension and decided to get legal assistance in this matter.
It is by no means the first time for the committee to oppose plans for gravel quarrying in the municipality – nor is it the first time that the local company Gruber has been involved. “We have not had such good experiences with this company,” says Wolfgang Büsch (Greens). And his parliamentary colleague, Axel Horn, recalls earlier applications from the company, which operates three gravel pits in Sauerlach. A few years ago, in the course of the dispute, the municipality drew up a partial land use plan that designated certain areas for gravel quarrying – while the rest of the local area was left out.
One of these flagged areas is the former Fesl pit. The Sauerlach-based company of the same name mined gravel here for years, which was then mostly used for construction projects in the community, says Mayor Barbara Bogner (Independent Citizens’ Association). This changed after the Gruber company bought the gravel pit. “They evaluate it very differently than they used to,” says Axel Horn. “It’s crazy what you see in truck movements.” In October 2020, the Company applied for an extension of the mining depth and mining area and a change in the permitted backfill material for the Fesl pit. The building committee rejected this – with reference to the partial land use plan, the limits of which would be violated by the project, according to Bogner. In addition, the community “doesn’t want to have more dirt on the site,” says the mayor, with a view to the requested change to the backfill material. And Axel Horn (Greens) emphasizes: “It’s all in the direction of Sauerlacher and Brunnthaler drinking water supply.”
The district office has no concerns about this and relies on a statement from the water management office. Otherwise, the authorities see no reasons that speak against a “slight expansion” of the gravel pit, which is why they consider the refusal of the municipality to be “illegal”. Therefore, the intention is to replace their agreement and to grant approval, according to the letter from the district office to the town hall. In this case, they would defend themselves legally, as the municipal council has now decided. Or as Axel Horn puts it: “Then we can only hope that we will find a lawyer who is good enough to stop the project.”
What does the Gruber company think of the latest decisions in the town hall? This question remains unanswered. One of the managing directors said on request that they would not comment on the matter.