WWF criticizes Valais government regarding flood protection
Published: Monday, Sep 30th 2024, 15:20
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In the opinion of WWF Valais, the immediate flood protection measures on the Rhone near Sierre are not sufficient. The state council must stop invoking the state of emergency to circumvent public requirements and implement the priority measures that have long been decided upon, the nature conservation organization demands.
Following the devastating storms in the summer, which devastated the industrial site of Sierre in particular, the cantonal government decided on a series of urgent measures for this sector. Among other things, the railroad bridge is to be removed and the road bridge between Sierre and Chippis replaced.
In order to be able to act more quickly, the State Council activated a special clause. This exempts measures that are in the public interest from a public requirement. In a communiqué published on Monday, WWF Valais is of the opinion that the actions taken on these two bridges are indeed "justified and necessary".
"But other measures announced go far beyond immediate protection," Marie-Thérèse Sangra, regional secretary of the WWF, criticized the government to the Keystone-SDA news agency. The State Council had thus given itself a blank cheque.
Sangra points in particular to the reinforcement of the wall of the earth embankment on which the Alusuisse buildings are located. According to the plan for the 3rd Rhone correction signed by the federal government and the cantons of Vaud and Valais in 2016, the river was to be widened at this point. The canton, which had decided to revise this plan, could no longer proceed with immediate measures and avoid public hearings, she complained.
In order to make progress with the protection of the Rhone, the WWF is calling on the Valais government to implement the measures in Sierre-Chippis and Aigle, which have been ready for a long time, without delay.
©Keystone/SDA
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