Environmental scandal in the Alps - Proceedings for working in Rappenalptal before the ban?
The Landgericht Kempten is conducting further hearings today (from 9:00 am) about the environmental scandal in the Rappenalptal in the Allgäu Alps. Two responsible persons from Alp cooperatives are on trial for allegedly significantly altering the protected stream in the valley of Oberstdorf through excavation works on approximately one and a half kilometers of its length.
Despite the generally impermissible construction works on the creek, a dismissal of the proceedings in exchange for a payment by the defendants is being considered in the trial. The presiding judge Christoph Schwiebacher suggested this on the first court day. The parties in the proceedings must now state whether they agree to such a dismissal. The proceedings were previously considered for dismissal by the Criminal Chamber, but this was prevented by the opposition of the public prosecutor's office.
Landratsamt under criticism for unlawful excavation works
Background is that the Landratsamt Oberallgäu played a questionable role in the illegal excavation works. The authority granted certain works on the waterway with a protocol note after a flood, which the Alp farmers then saw as permission for excavation and canalization of the creek. Judge Schwiebacher criticized the protocol note of the Landratsamt sharply on the first trial day due to its general form.
The environmental scandal, which once also preoccupied the Bavarian Parliament in Munich, was the subject of a proceeding before the Administrative Court of Augsburg last year. The judges found errors on both sides. In the wake of this, the Alp farmers and the district authority in Sonthofen agreed to finance the restoration of Rappenalpbach together. Restoration work had already taken place last year. The Bund Naturschutz is still demanding further work.
The Landgericht has planned further hearing days for the trial, a verdict was previously planned for August 9th.
- The wildbach, or wild stream, in the Rappenalp Valley of the Allgäu Alps, which was allegedly altered by excavation works, is at the center of the ongoing legal proceedings in Kempten, Bavaria.
- The public prosecutor's office in Kempten has opposed the dismissal of the trial against the two responsible persons from Alp cooperatives in the Rappenalp Valley, despite considerations from the presiding judge Christoph Schwiebacher.
- The environmental scandal in the Rappenalp Valley has previously been addressed in legal proceedings before the Administrative Court of Augsburg, with both the Alp farmers and the district authority in Sonthofen agreeing to finance the restoration of Rappenalpbach.
- Despite the generally impermissible construction works on the creek, the possibility of a dismissal of the proceedings in exchange for a payment by the defendants is being considered in the trial, with the parties needing to state whether they agree to such a dismissal.
- The ecological impact of the alleged alterations to the wildbach in the Rappenalp Valley has been a concern in the legal proceedings, with restoration work having already taken place last year and further work still being demanded by organizations such as the Bund Naturschutz.
