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Environmental protection control

The municipal environmental protection authority is responsible for monitoring the legality and public interest of environmental matters. In Siilinjärvi municipality, the Authority Board is responsible for supervision. In practice, these tasks are carried out by staff working under the authority of the Board, to whom the Board has delegated its powers in many environmental protection-related licensing and monitoring matters.

Legality control includes monitoring compliance with the Environmental Protection Act, the Land Extraction Act, the Waste Act and certain other acts and decrees and decisions issued under them, as well as monitoring environmental permits and decisions.

The monitoring of activities subject to environmental permits and registration is based on a monitoring plan and programme. In order to carry out this monitoring, inspections are carried out at regular intervals and agreed in advance with the operator. A fee is charged in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s fees.

As a rule, the extraction of soil is monitored by annual inspections, to which the operator is invited. The environmental protection inspector also carries out occasional inspections as necessary. An annual fee is charged by the municipality for the supervision of extraction activities.

The holder of the permit must report the quantity and quality of the material taken each year by January 31st. This information is collected in the electronic NOTTO information system. The data are used for national monitoring of soil extraction permits, extraction and its impact.

The Public Authorities Board and environmental protection officers monitor compliance with the Waste Act and the regulations issued under it. Waste management supervision includes, among other things, monitoring the proper disposal of waste and the connection to the waste transport system organised by the municipality. For example, the proper treatment of waste is monitored in companies that generate hazardous waste. The Waste Act and municipal waste management regulations oblige permanent residential and leisure properties to join the municipal waste collection system. The waste management regulations regulate the types of waste for which separate collection must be provided at the residential property.

The municipal environmental protection authority also controls littering. This control is carried out in the context of other controls, through control campaigns and on the basis of contacts from local residents.

The Water Act is supervised by the Finnish Supervisory Agency and the municipal environmental protection authority. The Economic Development Centre carries out its water management and fisheries tasks.

The state and municipal supervisory authorities have parallel supervisory responsibilities in water matters. The most common measures under the Water Act that are subject to municipal supervision are small hydraulic engineering works, such as dredging and drainage.

Things to consider when planning dredging

All mechanised dredging must be notified to the Finnish Supervisory Agency and the water owner at least 30 days before the operation.
The location of dredged material should be carefully considered. Dredged material placed on land should not be allowed to flow back into the watercourse during high floods or rainfall. If there is no suitable site near the shore, the dredged material should be transported for disposal elsewhere.
The boundary of the water area is the shoreline defined by the mean water level, i.e. the long-term average. Dredging material must not be placed in such a way that the water body becomes land, i.e. the water body must not be raised by dredging material.
Suction cleaning slurries are very watery. Their placement often requires special arrangements, such as sedimentation basins and dams, to prevent run-off into water bodies.

Things to consider for drainage

Drainage refers to measures taken to drain the land or to remove water that is detrimental to the use of the land. It may involve digging a new ditch or enlarging or straightening an existing ditch.
The property owner may take measures to remove water that interferes with the use of the property. Drainage must be done in such a way that it does not cause waterlogging on another’s property.
Anyone who benefits from the ditch must maintain it.
The Siilinjärvi Authority Board grants certain rights of use in connection with drainage and resolves disputes concerning drainage.
Minor drainage must be notified to the Licensing and Inspectorate Office at least 60 days before the drainage is to be carried out.
If there are several parties to the dredging, a dredging operation must be held.

Under the Water Management Act, the municipal environmental protection authority supervises the connection of properties in the area of operation of the water utility (Water Management Act 119/2001).

Under the Environmental Protection Act, the municipal environmental protection authority supervises the treatment of wastewater in areas outside sewerage networks (Environmental Protection Act 527/2014).

Under the Nitrates Regulation (1250/2014), the municipal environmental protection authority supervises the storage and handling of manure and certain other fertilisers. The aim is to prevent emissions from farms to surface water, groundwater, soil and air. As a general rule, farms that accumulate manure from livestock must have a manure storage area sized for manure accumulated over a 12-month period. If a farm accumulates up to 25 m³ of dry manure per year, manure can be stored, for example in a tight transfer pallet under a canopy or protected by a cover. The guide volumes for the sizing of the manure room are given in the annex table of the Nitrate Regulation.

In exceptional circumstances, the storage of manure in pits or the spreading of manure must be reported to the municipality’s environmental protection authority via the e-service.

The Environmental Protection Department of Siilinjärvi Municipality issues permits for the extraction of soil and handles notifications related to domestic extraction. The aim of the permits, notifications and statements is to protect the soil and prevent its pollution. Contaminated land is defined as land where harmful substances are present as a result of human activity. They may cause significant harm to the environment or risk to human health, a reduction in amenity or other harm. The clean-up of contaminated soil and groundwater is regulated by the Environmental Protection Act.

Hazardous substances can enter the soil as a result of various accidents, accidents or gradual releases over a long period of time. Past practice of burying waste in the ground may also have caused soil contamination. Harmful substances may be carried to groundwater, water bodies or spread to surrounding areas. Siilinjärvi has about 130 potentially contaminated soil sites registered in the national soil status information system (MATTI). The register includes old landfills, fuel distribution sites and industrial sites.

According to the Rescue Act (379/2011), the municipality is responsible for the aftermath of oil spills in its area, if necessary. The various authorities and institutions of the municipality must participate in the clean-up, if necessary. The municipality’s designated authority is in charge of the clean-up operation. In Siilinjärvi municipality, the head of municipal engineering acts as the municipal oil spill response authority.