"Good Environmental Impact Assessment" Award for Nord Stream 2

"Good Environmental Impact Assessment" Award for Nord Stream 2

In its statement, the Finnish Association for Impact Assessment (FAIA) says that the EIA of the planned pipeline is well written and includes an extensive amount of information on the project's implementation alternatives and their impacts. The EIA was drafted by Nord Stream 2's environmental consultancy company Ramboll Finland.

Each year, the FAIA gives recognition to a meritorious environmental impact assessment. Nord Stream 2's EIA was assessed to have drawn on the experience from the existing Nord Stream Pipeline's EIA. Mitigation measures for reducing the impacts were said to be thoroughtly considered and presented extensively, so that the potential negative impacts on for example marine life and sea traffic would remain minor. The assessment was also credited for its vast supplements describing for example engagement with various stakeholders, such as fishermen and coastal inhabitants. It is also stated that Nord Stream 2 has fulfilled its' responsibilities in the Espoo procedure very well.

"We are very pleased with this recognition and I would like to thank Ramboll for their excellent work. Their experience gained from the previous Nord Stream project was a good starting point for the development of Nord Stream 2's EIA. Nord Stream 2 has taken into consideration the feedback received from various stakeholders in the implementation of the project as much as possible. We are committed to constructing the pipelines in such a way that the impacts will remain as limited as possible" says Tore Granskog, Nord Stream 2's permitting manager for Finland.

"We are happy to receive this award as a sign of appreciation of our EIA report. Nord Stream 2 AG's high level of dedication to take care of the environmental aspects was clearly visible in the assessment work. The impact assessments benefited from the valuable data gathered during several years of Nord Stream's environmental monitoring. As a new topic, underwater noise caused by munitions clearance in construction phase emerged, leading to further planning of more extensive mitigation measures", says Antti Lepola, leading consultant at Ramboll Finland.

The Environmental Impact Assessment material is used as the basis for decision-making in the permitting procedure in Finland, where Nord Stream 2 requires two permits for the planned pipelines running 374 kilometres through the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ): the government's consent for the use of the EEZ, and a Water Permit for the construction and operation of the pipeline. The permits are expected to be received in the next weeks.