Finland’s experience in implementing and applying the Espoo Convention

Seija RantakallioCouncellor

Moscow, 21 September

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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?