Groundwater Protection in Selected Countries
1. Background information
| 1.1 | Basic facts |
| 1.2 | Structure of environmental authorities |
| 1.3 | Statutory and advisory information |
Austria has a population of 8,055,000 (1996) and an area of 83,900 km2. This gives a population density of 96 persons pr. km2.
GDP
The gross domestic product (GDP) in Austria is 2,352,000 mill. Austrian shillings (quarterly rate for 1995: OECD, 1998). The current exchange rate is approximately 13.8 ATS pr. EURO. The annual gross domestic product pr. person is therefore approximately 85,000 EURO.
Precipitation
The range of precipitation is from more than 2,000 mm/year in mountainous regions to less than 600 mm/year at pannonic climates in the north-east near Vienna. The average of precipitation for the whole country is 1,170 mm/year. The range of evaporation is also greatly varied. Evaporation is negligible in the mountains and exceeds precipitation in the warm pannonic climate in the north-east. The average of evaporation for the whole country is about 510 mm/year. Therefore, the total net precipitation in Austria can be estimated at 84 billion m3 (Draft RSEA).
1.2 Structure of environmental authoritiesAustria is a federal republic with a Federal Assembly composed of 2 chambers, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and the National Council (Nationalrat). The most important instrument of the Assembly is the passing of legislation.
Two ministries involved
Soil and water protection falls within the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The Ministry of Environment was introduced in the late 70’ies. This Ministry has the responsibility for waste management, for the outlines of environmental impact assessment and the funding of environmental projects in Austria (sewage plants, remediation of contaminated sites) and in the CEE-countries.
Federal Environment Agency
The Federal Environment Agency, founded in 1985, is a specialist institution under the Ministry of Environment and was privatised in the beginning of 1999. The Federal Environmental Agency deals with all areas of environmental protection on a nation-wide basis and the main task is to observe and document the state of the environment and tendencies of development. Additionally, predisposing works for legislation are done and in certain fields as the remediation of contaminated sites executive tasks are attended.
Regional authorities
Although the environmental legislation is focused at a national level, the regional authorities located in each of the 9 states (Bundeslaender) have full executive power and can do additional legislation in certain fields.
Figure 1.1 shows the relationship between these authorities.
Figure 1.1.
Relationship between the various environmental authorities.
With regard to groundwater protection and contaminated sites, there are four major laws of concern:
- Water Act, 1959
- Industrial Code, 1973
- Act on the Clean-Up of Contaminated Sites (ALSAG), 1989
- Waste Management Act, 1990
The Water Act
The Water Act is characterised by its use of the precautionary principle. The legal goal of keeping water resources clean has been defined as "Maintaining water in its natural condition". Since more than 99% of Austrian drinking water is supplied by groundwater, groundwater protection is fundamental. Pursuant to the Water Act, groundwater has to be kept as clean as necessary for use as drinking water.
Industrial Code & Waste Management Act
Apart from the Water Act, there are two other main pieces of legislation containing provisions that have to be taken into account dealing with contaminated sites; namely, the Industrial Code and the Federal Waste Management Act. In connection with approving industrial activities or closing down industrial sites, the Industrial Code mainly aims to protect the interests of neighbours and water bodies. The Waste Management Act is used to determine when waste collection and treatment is required in the public interest.
ALSAG
The Act for the Clean-Up of Contaminated Sites, or ALSAG, was primarily intended to be a means of funding clean-up measures. Charges levied for disposal or export of waste are put into a fund from which grants for remediation projects are available. The fund covers costs of site investigation at abandoned sites and - to some extent - covers the costs of remediation measures.
The major features of ALSAG are:
 | funds are provided for abandoned and operating landfill sites and industrial sites |
| only contamination at sites that existed before 1989 are taken into consideration, since current legislation is supposed to cover the problems of recent sites |
| the provision of funds is carried out according to priorities set at national level. |
Furthermore, the Ministry of the Environment, Youth and Family is obliged to survey, investigate and assess contaminated sites on a national scale and to co-ordinate corresponding measures, Consistent with the legal background, the Federal Environmental Agency implements listing, investigation and assessment according to ALSAG. Local authorities execute the basic laws of the Water Act and implement remediation projects. The Ministry co-ordinates the activities related to this act and is responsible for the allocation of money to fund clean-ups.