Blausee AG is going to federal court in the dispute over installation space

Teaser image source: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland, CC BY 3.0

The Federal Court must deal with the dispute over the planned Mitholz installation site. Blausee AG is moving forward with the Federal Administrative Court’s decision, as it announced today, Friday.

Blausee AG runs a restaurant with a hotel and a trout farm near the lake of the same name in the Bernese Oberland. This is located a little below the Mitholz quarry; Between 2018 and 2020, numerous fish died in this fish farm, some of which is fed from groundwater. Blausee AG subsequently suspected that material deposits in the mitholz were the cause. For years, contaminated material from the Lötschberg tunnel was illegally dumped there. They therefore lodged a complaint against the BAV’s planning approval. The Federal Administrative Court rejected this. The project does not violate waste, water protection or contaminated sites law. After the renovation, unproblematic values ​​were measured at the site.

“Numerous legal discrepancies”

But now the Federal Court has to deal with the dispute over the planned Mitholz installation site. As Blausee AG announced today, it is moving forward with the Federal Administrative Court’s decision. She sees “numerous legal inconsistencies”. The Federal Administrative Court did not take important aspects into account or only took them inadequately into account. The decision contradicts applicable federal law as well as the existing usage plans and development regulations. Particular concerns regarding the planned construction of the installation site on an illegal landfill site. By going to the Federal Court, Blausee AG is committed to finding a legally compliant and environmentally friendly solution.

The Mitholz installation site is part of the partial expansion of the Lötschberg base tunnel. It will serve as a hub for construction and equipment work. (sda/may)