Finland’s experience in implementing and applying the Espoo Convention Seija Rantakallio...
-
Upload
abner-casey -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
1
Transcript of Finland’s experience in implementing and applying the Espoo Convention Seija Rantakallio...
Finland’s experience in implementing and applying the Espoo Convention
Seija RantakallioCouncellor
Moscow, 21 September
2
Espoon Convention
Finland ratified 1995 Agreement has entered into force 1997
– Party to the Convention can participate into other Party’s environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA)
Finland-Estonia bilateral EIA-agreement 2002– Application of Convention between Finland and Estonia
Negotiations on bilateral EIA agreement with Russian Federation in 1990s
3
Party in two different roles
Ministry of the Environment is the competent authority of Espoo Convention
Party of Origin Affected Party
Finland Finland
Party Party
Likely significant adverse transboundary
environmental impact
4
Finland as a Party of Origin
Finland
– Sends a notification to potentially affected party about the project and its environmental impact
– Sends EIA documentation on transboundary impact to affected party and gives a possibility for consultations
– Gives a possibility to affected party’s public and authorities to participate in the Finnish EIA –similar opportunities as nationally
– Takes the comments from affected party into account in the national EIA
– Sends final decision
5
Espoo procedure when Party of Origin
Finland
Point of Contact for notification
Ministry of the Environment
Affected Party
Point of Contact for notification
EIA programme
EIA documenta-tion
Final decision
Notification
Comments
Comments
For comments
6
PoO -notification phase
EIA programme
=Scoping document
Includes e.g.
-what impacts are expected in the affected party
-planned studies to assess likely transboundary environmental impact in the affected party
-relevant parts of programme in affected party’s language
7
EIA notification phase and Espoo Convention
EIA programme
Ministry of the Environment
Affected Parties
Submits info to MoE
Announcement Public hearing
Developer EIA competent authority
Notification
Answer on participation and comments on programme
Submits answers to EIA competent authority
Gives statement on adequacy of programme
Takes into consideration when drafting the EIA report (documentation)
Point of Contact for Espoo
8
PoO –EIA documentation phase
EIA documentation
Includes e.g.
-likely transboundary environmental impact in affected party
-given comments on the programme taken into account
-translation of relevat parts in the affected party’s language
9
Finland as Affected Party
Ministry of the Environment
-announcement in newspaper
-press release
-documents for public display and for comments…in Finnish and in Swedish
-request for statements and opinions from authorities and NGOs
-answer to PoO (willingness to participate on EIA, comments on the adequacy of EIA)
Notification
EIA documentation
10
Agreement on practical arrangements for Espoo procedure between points of contact
Finland
Point of Contact for notification
Ministry
of the Environment
Affected Party
Point of Contact for notification
-inform about timing of notification and documentation and dead line for answer
-agree on timing and ways of public participation
-translation of documents
Early contacts
11
Application of Espoo in Finland
Party of Origin and Affected Party several times
– Ongoing processes and more expected PoO: -two new nuclear power plant units
-> neighbours + Baltic Sea subregion
AP: -Ignalina nuclear power plant, Lithuania
-Narva power plant, Estonia
-Offshore wind farm, Estonia
-Offshore wind farm, Sweden
PoO+AP -Nord Stream gas pipeline
12
Cooperation between Finland and Russian Federation under Espoo Convention Finland has notified Russia
– Imatra power plant 1996– Final disposal of used nuclear fuel 1998– New nuclear power plant unit to Loviisa 1998– Waste water treatment plant in Lappeenranta 2006– Nord Stream gas pipeline 2006– New nuclear power plant unit to Olkiluoto 2007– New nuclear power plant unit to Loviisa 2007
Russia has notified Finland– Ust-Luga multipurpose harbour terminal 2003– Nord Stream gas pipeline 2006
How to treat projects with likely significant transboundary impact in the future?