Seveso facilities are industrial installations that handle hazardous substances whose release into the environment could have serious consequences for people and nature. For this reason, these facilities are subject to special safety and monitoring requirements, which can create significant challenges for developers in particular when implementing real estate projects. Targeted and reliable legal advice is therefore essential.
Services and Offer for Urban Development
Special Expertise in Dealing with Seveso Facilities
For each Seveso facility, an appropriate safety distance must be defined within which significant risks to human health, public safety, and the environment cannot be ruled out in the event of a major accident. This safety distance must be identified in the zoning plan of the relevant federal province and must not conflict with the local development concept.
Construction projects within this safety distance are not excluded per se. Rather, they are permissible if the project does not significantly increase the consequences of a major accident at the Seveso facility or if such consequences can be prevented through suitable measures. Expert opinions are required to demonstrate this. In order to prepare them, however, developers need specific information about the Seveso facility and the risks associated with it. This is particularly problematic where the operator of the Seveso facility is unwilling to disclose that information. Our experience shows that there are nevertheless legal avenues to obtain access to the necessary information and, ultimately, to secure a building permit.
Expertise in Dealing with Public Participation
Public participation in decisions affecting the environment is firmly anchored in Austrian law, particularly in environmental matters. In line with this principle, not only immediate neighbors but also a much broader group of people may be involved in construction projects connected with Seveso facilities. This means that not only individuals, but also citizens’ initiatives, may participate in the proceedings and may even initiate review proceedings against a building permit decision. This broad circle of stakeholders requires not only legal expertise, but also the right procedural strategy, and the necessary tact and sensitivity.
GIBEL ZIRM Attorneys at Law support project developers in all areas of successful urban development, in particular in dealing with the special legal framework applicable to Seveso facilities.
