Minutes from meeting for the international water districts Tana- Pasvik-Neiden

Transcription

1 Møtedato: Tid:kl.13:00-17:00 Møtested:Fylkeshuset Vadsø Arkivsak: / Ref.dato: Arkivnr: ---/K54 Minutes from meeting for the international water districts Tana- Pasvik-Neiden Møteleder: Referent: Deltakere: Fravær: Kopi til: Stein Tage Domaas Kerry Maria Agustsson Stein Tage Domaas, Kerry Maria Agustsson (FFK), Bente Christiansen, Stig Moen, Jostein Fløgstad (FMFI), Pekka Räinä, Outi Mähönen, Jukka Ylikörkkö (ELY-keskus Lapland), Ivar Hellesnes, Anne Nesbakken, Kerstin Haake (Mattilsynet), Anne Fløgstad Smeland (Tana kommune), Trygve Sarajärvi (Sør-Varanger kommune), Frank Ingelæ (Tana kommune, Cecilie Hansen (Sør-Varanger kommune), Anne Toril Eriksen Balto (Karasjok kommune), Tore Gundersen (FFK) Agenda 1. Presentation of Agreement on the Finnish- Norwegian River Basin District by Norwegian Ministry of Environment 2. Presentation of Programme of Measures in Finland and Norway from the river basin and the water basin district level a. Finnish authorities (Lapin ELY-keskus): process and PoM for Tana, Pasvik and Neiden on Finnish side b. Finnmark River Basin District Authority (FFK): Process and PoM for Tana, Pasvik and Neiden on the Norwegian side c. Pasvik og Neiden water district measures by Trygve Sarajärvi d. Tana water district meaures by Anne Fløgstad Smeland e. Enare and Utsjokk municipalities (not confirmed) 3. Discussion of need for measures based on previous presentation and common essential issues for the two countries which concrete measures can we agree on for the transboundary waterbodies? a. Preventive measures against contamination of Gyrodactylus salaris b. Corrective measures for run-off from rural and municipal wastewater c. Other measures? 4. Presentation of classification data and risk evaluation (Finnmark County Governor and Lapin ELY-keskus) 5. Discussion of further work for the international river basin district: a. Common roof chapter for the management plan, other issues b. Cooperation and coordination practical issues 6. Review of topics presented during the Commissions meeting (by Finnmark County Governor) (if necessary) Plan- og kulturavdelinga

2 7. Other Due to travel plans the section on measures concerning Gyrodactylus salaris was moved to the beginning of the meeting. Issue 3a: Preventive measures against contamination of Gyrodactylus salaris Both Norway and Finland are currently uncontaminated by Gyrodactylus salaris in the Neiden catchment area, although it is presumed that the parasite is present in other watercourses in Finland. It is of interest to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) to know to which extent the parasite s presence is mapped in Finland. Since the EVIRA was not present at the meeting, ELY-keskus could not shed more light on the situation. EVIRA has made a report which assesses the preventive measures in Tana and Neiden. The report strongly indicates that should these areas become contaminated it would be almost impossible to eradicate the parasite. The Norwegian-Finnish Transboundary Water Commission has made a recommendation concerning this issue. It emphasizes information and efficiency of spreading information, and states that efforts should not solely concentrate on the main rivers of Tana and Neiden, but also include tributary rivers which drain into Bottenvika and the Barents Sea, as well as Munkelva. There should also be cooperation with the Finnish-Swedish Transboundary Water Commission on this work. Dissemination of information should also focus upon travellers from Russia. It is important to convey that this is a serious threat. Ivar Hellesnes from Mattilsynet headquarters gave a brief overview of the current organization in Norway. There is a national committee consisting of representatives from state directorates, which is responsible for issues concerning Gyrodactylus salaris. The committee produces action plans and discusses and plans treatment procedures, although they have no authority to ratify plans as this lies with the respective authorities. Hellesnes will inform the committee on the recommendations from the Transboundary Commission concerning the critique of the current contingency plans and the lack of information, especially in Russian. There is a plan for 2014 for Troms and Finnmark, which calls for a scaling up of the work, and based on this Mattilsynet will arrange a meeting to discuss preventive measures further and improve the contact with the users of the watercourses. Issue 2: Presentation of Programme of Measures in Finland and Norway from the river basin and the water basin district level a) Pekka Räinä (Lapin ELY-keskus) presented information concerning the PoM. Classification is complete, but the PoM is in the planning phase. A draft of the measures will be complete by the end of April The measures will be divided into three categories: basic measures based on EU legislation, basic measures based on Finnish legislation and additional measures for those waterbodies where basic measures are not sufficient. Investment costs and maintenance costs will be estimated, and all measures will have a four-scale efficiency-assessment. New guidance documents for the PoM come from working groups based on sector authorities, and recommendations from these groups will be adapted regionally. Climatic issues have been addressed in all the guidance documents for all sectors, as well as the effects of prioritised substances, protected areas etc.

3 In Norway the guideline documents are classed by theme, which requires cohesion between at least 13 different sector authorities. In Finland it can be challenging to balance responsibility for pressures when each sector has its own guidelines which are to be followed. Yet since each sector authority is included from the start, there is wide acceptance of the guidelines. Anne Smeland inquired if Finland has produced detailed calculations of nutrient loading for the Tana watercourse. In reply, Pekka pointed out that they have assessments and models which evaluate diffuse loading from agriculture, natural sources, etc. But they need to be more detailed. b) Kerry Agustsson presented guidelines and process for the Norwegian PoMs. The process for identifying measures is organised regionally through the River Basin District Authority, who in turns contacts the sector authorities. The water districts are responsible for the local process and producing a local analysis of measures, which is then reported regionally. Based on these local processes a regional PoM is made. The sector authorities are involved through participation in the River Basin District Board, through national guidelines from each sector, and through local process. Main guidelines are to select measures which practical and achievable, to take into consideration costs and cost-efficiency, and to concentrate on major pressures first. c) Anne Smeland presented the local process in Tana water district, giving an overview of local organisation. In Tana, both politicians and administrative personnel attend the water district board. The process involving identifying which water bodies requires measures and which sector authority is responsible was presented, as well as which information is required for the PoM. A table has been sent to each sector authority stating which information is needed for each measure; this includes economic information as well as administrative and legislative. In addition there is a national library available at vannportalen.no where one can locate all the measures each sector is responsible for and which fall under their jurisdiction. The local process also involves assisting inspections by sector authorities, and further determining the status of the water bodies. The municipalities are important in the work with the PoMs since they are responsible for water, wastewater and agriculture. Yet these are only a few of the measures which will form the PoM measures connected to other pressures fall under the jurisdiction of other sector authorities. Anne Nesbakken from Mattilsynet inquired how information is disseminated to vann-nett, as Mattilsynet has no responsibility for the identification of future drinking water sources. How is this issues treated in the municipalities, by the RBDA and in Finland? Anders Iversen informed that there is a new guideline document in production on groundwater. Pekka Räinä informed that groundwater in Finland has been mapped and divided into three categories. In addition, there are areas of risk which need further examination. c) Trygve Sarajärvi presented the local process in the Pasvik and Neiden water districts. Similar to Tana, the Water District Board consists of various sector authorities, organization, business and trade industries. The challenge here is how one municipality can serve two water districts. A list of measures carried out in Neiden and Pasvik was presented, followed by the pressures which much be addressed in this planning period. These include diffuse pollution from Nikel in Russia, effects on the wild salmon population, pressures from farmed fisheries, pollution, ballast water, pressures from the oil and gas industry and off-road driving.

4 Kerstin Haake from Mattilsynet pointed out a lack of attention to the effects from farmed fisheries in Russia. Currently, Mattilsynet has visited facilities in Russia and are very concerned about their status and management. These issues concerning pressures from Russia have not yet been inspected further. They will be further described in the regional water management plan and thus raised to the national level. Issue 3: Discussion of need for measures based on previous presentation and common essential issues for the two countries which concrete measures can we agree on for the transboundary waterbodies? a) Preventive measures against contamination of Gyrodactylus salaris b) Corrective measures for run-off from rural and municipal wastewater c) Other measures? Preventive measures against Gyrodactylus salaris have already been discussed. Concerning corrective measures for run-off from wastewater systems, there is a need to exchange information on nutrient loading calculations. This is required so we can be aware of which measures are being planned and implemented on either side of the border. Trygve Sarajärvi informed us that in Sør-Varanger municipality, wastewater and run-off from houses, cabins and agriculture have been mapped. Based on the results, a report has been made which gives a rough indication of the level of pressures. With this information the municipality can go through the entire area and evaluate which places are in such poor condition that they need immediate measures. Anne Smeland informed that for the Tana water district nutrient loading mapping is most relevant for Tana and Karasjok municipalities. There is a good overview of run-off from wastewater systems due to renovation work on sludge separators. However, there is still a need for more measures. The main problem is municipal wastewater systems, and these must be addressed before private systems. There is not yet a complete overview of the situation. Anders Iversen added that wastewater was not a priority during the first planning period. However, this issue has received more attention since Norsk Vann (non-commercial organization for water and wastewater sector) has focused on it locally and nationally. Frank Ingilæ, mayor of Tana municipality, informed on the challenges of increased municipal fees concerning wastewater, and one therefore needs to look for alternative solutions and financial support. Anders Iversen answered that this has been discussed nationally, and that now the Norwegian municipalities are represented in the Directorate Group, and this should result in more political focus on these issues. Anne Smeland suggested more information needs to be exchanged in order to achieve common measures: - A common PE loading for Tana, Karasjok and Utsjokk municipalities that gives an overview of who releases what amounts. Tana and Karasjok are currently making these calculations, will Utsjokk do this, and can it be translated?

5 - Finland has a thorough pollution calculation, which we do not have in Norway. It would be of interest to have a common calculation. Issue 4: Presentation of classification data and risk evaluation (Finnmark County Governor and Lapin ELY-keskus) The Finnmark County Governor presented their data on the current classification status in Tana, Pasvik and Neiden. Main issues are absence of salmon in the Tana River, fish migration obstacles, mercury and copper along with other heavy metals in Pasvik. Where there is no data one assumes the status is good. There is also an issue with PCBs. Lapland ELY-keskus presented their data on classification. Finland will open a map service which allows examination of the water bodies and the data. In Finland many water bodies will be classified as good status. Issue 5: Discussion of further work for the international river basin district: a. Common roof chapter for the management plan, other issues b. Cooperation and coordination practical issues The draft for the roof chapter is presented. It must be compared to the Norwegian guidance document for the management plan to ensure that all aspects on the Norwegian side are covered. It is agreed that the roof chapter should shed light on similarities and differences, but this will be further discussed in a workshop which will be organized later this year, along with a division of tasks. In addition it is important to ensure that the roof chapter is written in layman terms. The differences in deadlines for public hearing are a challenge, but if the Finnish PoM is completed in April 2014 there should be enough data to write the roof chapter. Regarding the process in 2015 in Norway there is scheduled time for making changes to the documents before regional and national approval takes place. In Finland there is only one level of approval, by Ministers in December Regarding the workshop Pekka and Kerry will agree on dates. Participants will be ELY-keskus, The County Governor, the RBDA, members of the working groups in Norway and regional participants in Finland. Issue 6 was not presented. Meeting ended at 16:45.