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Complaint: Norway Violates the Water Framework Directive Mining

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Complaint: Norway Violates the Water Framework Directive Mining The Green Warriors of Norway (NMF) Norges Miljøvernforbund (NMF) Postboks 593 5806 BERGEN NORWAY www.nmf.no [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Bergen, 06.04.2020 EFTA Surveillance Authority Rue Belliard 35 B- 1040 Brussels Belgium http://www.eftasurv.int/ [email protected] gas@eftasurvint Complaint: Norway violates the Water Framework Directive Mining. Table of contents 1.0. Background ................................................................................................................................................ 2 2.0. This complaint ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1. Fair and impartial justice ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. The Water Regulation section 1 ............................................................................................................ 4 2.3. 2000/60/EC Articles 4(6), 4(7) and 4(8) ................................................................................................ 7 3.0. Damage to the aquatic environment related to mining..............................................................................10 3.1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................10 Studies on early life stages of cod to suspended copper-mine tailings ...........................................................10 NMF comment: ..............................................................................................................................................10 Scientists and mine companies .......................................................................................................................11 Norway in the opposite direction of the environmental flow .........................................................................12 Media .............................................................................................................................................................12 Radioactive waste ..........................................................................................................................................12 CO₂ emissions ................................................................................................................................................13 Circular Economy ..........................................................................................................................................13 3.2. Folldal Mines ........................................................................................................................................16 Politicians do not take environmental responsibility ......................................................................................16 Folla River .....................................................................................................................................................17 3.3. Raudsand ..............................................................................................................................................18 Systematic environmental crime ....................................................................................................................19 NMF Kurt Oddekalv on the case....................................................................................................................20 Vanadium .......................................................................................................................................................21 Existing landfill ..............................................................................................................................................22 A national landfill for hazardous waste ..........................................................................................................24 New filling in the sea: ....................................................................................................................................25 Tingvollfjord and Sunndalsfjord ....................................................................................................................27 Hydro Aluminium in Sunndal ........................................................................................................................30 Seabed sediment in the whole fjord system ...................................................................................................31 3.4. Repparfjord ...........................................................................................................................................32 3.5. Førdefjord .............................................................................................................................................35 Consultation statement given by IMR in 2019 ...............................................................................................36 3.6. Tosenfjord ............................................................................................................................................37 Consultation statement given by IMR in 2020 ...............................................................................................38 4.0. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................38 1.0. Background The Green Warriors of Norway (NMF) submitted a comprehensive and thorough complaint to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) in May 2019. The complaint dealt with the obvious breach of the Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23th October establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. The complaint also dealt with the mining industry's practice of dumping mine tailings/waste into so-called seafill. Directives that regulate land-based operations cannot be directly transferred to a seafill. Landfill is strictly regulated by the following Directives: 2000/60/EC, 1999/31/EC, 2006/21/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2006/118/EC and 2010/75/EC. According to NMF, seafill is mainly regulated by 2000/60/EC. Seafill is practically impossible to handle properly. No one can guarantee that the state of the aquatic environment goes from “good” to “bad”. Life in the aquatic environment is very complex and dynamic. Thus, there is a great deal of uncertainty and knowledge gaps in how a seafill will contribute to damage in the ecological system. Experience from the 1970s mining operations in the Repparfjord indicates that the seabed is partly lifeless over 40 years after the test period. Imagine the natural balance in terms of current, temperatures, salinity and seabed terrain in narrow fjords. Changes affect migratory paths for salmon, local sea trout needs, coastal cod spawning grounds, shrimp fields, benthos, shellfish, the habitat of traditional fishing with its fishing loop. As an added burden, NMF knows that many of the Norwegian fjords are covered with salmon and blacklisted rainbow trout farming plants. The ocean is our common food dish, a food dish that is our heritage and which is a long- term basis of living. Millions of tonnes of tailings consisting of small particles of crushed rock, heavy metals and residues of organic chemicals bound to the particles are supplied to the aquatic environment. Page 2 of 39 An irreversible process of lasting intervention and damage. We should also not forget that mining and landfill have challenges related to the leakage of hazardous waste to groundwater and seawater. The crucial question then arises: EU directives are governing, so why does the industry practice in a way that contributes to a major deterioration of nature and ecology? In other words, the examples that NMF cites in this complaint are obvious directive violations. NMF is determined that Article 4/2000/EC, with special emphasis on 4(7) and 4(8), cannot be used for such large, extensive and irreversible damage to the aquatic environment. These are the main points: • the Norwegian regulation on a water management framework (The Water Regulation) section 1 has not implemented the correct text. The content is not close to 2000/60/EC Article 1, and is far from the choice of direction. • The Water Regulation is not as comprehensive, accurate and detailed as 2000/60/EC. • persistent deterioration of the aquatic environment. 2.0. This complaint The NMF mainly deals with The Water Regulation and Directive 2000/60/EC. Nevertheless, there are a number of EU Directives that affect mining operations: • 1907/2006/EC Regulation. Concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). • 1999/31/EC Landfill of waste. • Requirements for waste recycling and treatment (waste regulation). • 2010/75/EU Industrial emissions. • 2008/98/EC Waste. • 1357/2014/EU Annex III to Directive 2008/98 / EC. • 2000/532/EC Establishing a list of wastes accordingly. • 2010/75/EU Industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control). • 2018/852/EU Packaging and packaging waste. • Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for Authorization (SVHCs). • 2017/997/EU HP 14 Ecotoxic. • 1013/2006/EC. Regulation on shipments of waste. • 92/3/Euratom replaced by 2006/117/Euratom on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and spent fuel.
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