Prime Minister Söder has again received the controversial requests from the CSU and FW to soften the drinking water protection.
In the district of Freising one is relieved.
District of Freising
– In the end, the pressure was probably too great: the CSU and Free Voters are canceling their motions to soften the protection of groundwater and drinking water in Bavaria’s state development program (LEP).
As Prime Minister Markus Söder explained after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the applications are no longer up to date.
Minister of State attacks mayor in a sharp tone
As reported, the plans had alarmed experts from municipalities and water producers.
Michael Hobmaier, head of Hörgertshausen's local and water association, was one of the first to go public: "With three amendments in the Economic Committee from the CSU government faction, drinking water protection is to be softened," he raised the alarm in the Freisinger Tagblatt.
Prioritizing groundwater for food and beverage manufacturers as well and no longer prioritizing the drinking water supply is a step in the wrong direction.
For this he received a scolding from CSU Minister of State Florian Herrmann, who sharply attacked him in a statement: Hobmaier spread outrageous nonsense, clumsy emotionalization and cheap polemics "through fictitious horror scenarios".
But Franz Rauch, managing director of the Freising-Süd water supply group and deputy chairman of the association of municipal companies in Bavaria, also warned: If the applications were to be decided as submitted, it would be “a catastrophe”.
This endangers Bavaria's local water supply.
Surprising reversal gives satisfaction to the criticized local boss
So now the turnaround.
For Michael Hobmaier it is a satisfaction, as he says when asked.
"I followed the state government's press conference on my cell phone - and I was happy." From the point of view of the water suppliers, the topic was "really explosive".
"The fact that the government took that back shows that our work was not in vain." was spoken."
The political opposition is also satisfied: "The joint pressure is working," says Green MP Johannes Becher.
“CSU and FW are rowing back.
My thanks go to the shared loud voice”, to which Becher explicitly counts Franz Rauch and Michael Hobmaier.
"In the interest of the people, we have to protect our precious resource of water in the long term." Becher senses a possible tactic in the decision before the state elections.
His MdL colleague Benno Zierer (FW) contradicts this: "We are showing that we take the concerns of citizens and municipalities seriously." The applications had no disadvantages for drinking water protection, but the concerns "apparently were not good enough communicated".
You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.