Facts
KWOG Kraftwerke Obergoms AG plans to build a small hydropower plant with a gross capacity of 4.2 MW on the municipal territory of Obergoms. The project affects the flowing waters of Gerewasser and Gonerliwasser, which flow into the Goneri and later into the Rhone. The Obergoms Municipal Council granted KWOG AG a water rights concession, which was approved by the State Council of the Canton of Valais under various conditions and requirements. WWF, Pro Natura, and the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Conservation filed an administrative court appeal against this decision.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court partially upholds the appeal and annuls the contested decision insofar as it confirms the approval of the water rights concession for the abstraction of the Gonerliwasser. The abstraction of the Gerewasser is compatible with the legal provisions, but that of the Gonerliwasser is not. The Federal Supreme Court justifies this as follows:
- The Canton of Valais has addressed the use of hydropower at the cantonal structure plan level and formulated guidelines for it. There is no specific structure plan requirement for the construction of new small hydropower plants.
- Within the framework of the first stage of the environmental impact assessment in the concession procedure, all essential aspects of the project must be clarified. This includes in particular the determination that the project is fundamentally compatible with environmental law.
- The residual water flow for the Gerewasser is compatible…