Nord Stream’s Danish Application Available for Public Consultation
March 10, 2009 | Copenhagen | The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in Danish Territorial Waters and the Danish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was published yesterday by the competent authority, the Danish Energy Agency.
The national EIA report will be available for public review and comments for eight weeks in the public libraries of Copenhagen, Ålborg, Odense, Århus, Rønne and Nexø. The report can also be accessed via the Danish Energy Agency’s, the Agency for Spatial and Environmental Planning’s and Nord Stream’s websites.
During the public consultation phase, Danish authorities, citizens and other interest groups have the opportunity to state their opinions on Nord Stream’s EIA report. As a part of the public participation procedure, a public hearing event will be organized and chaired by the Danish Energy Agency on Bornholm on 21 April 2009.
Nord Stream AG will host two seminars during the public consultation phase to continue its constructive dialogue about these key issues with its stakeholders.
"Dimensions of Secure Energy Supply – A European Perspective": 19 March 2009, 10-12 CET
“The Future of the Baltic Sea – Energizing the Environment”: 12 May 2009, 10-12 CET.
The national EIA report is a result of detailed environmental surveying and comprehensive consultation with the Danish authorities and other interest groups. In the course of this process, Nord Stream investigated several routes north and south of Bornholm. The now selected so-called S-Route was developed following a request by the Danish authorities to evaluate an alternative route south of Bornholm. Compared to a route north of Bornholm, the S-route minimises risks related to maritime traffic and environmental impact by seabed intervention works. It also avoids nature preserves and minimises the number of cable crossings that would have been necessary on the route north of Bornholm.
National permits to construct and operate the pipeline are required in accordance with domestic legislation of those countries through whose waters the Nord Stream Pipeline will pass: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Nord Stream has also prepared a transboundary environmental report (‘Espoo Report’) in accordance with the UN Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. Nord Stream’s Espoo report is the result of an intensive dialogue with the competent authorities of nine Baltic littoral states. They confirmed that the report is ready for public participation starting in March 2009 also. The Espoo Report is published as an annex to the Danish national EIA report and is also published at the Danish Energy Agency’s and Nord Stream’s websites.
