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To make a long story short
Sea view
The snow chaos in Eastern Norway is over for this time, but there is still a lot of clean-up to be done.
Despite the fact that the plan to improve the environment in the Oslo Fjord was presented in 2021, some of the surrounding municipalities have seen themselves obliged to dump the snow in the crisis-stricken Oslo Fjord this winter.
Among these is the municipality of Horten in Vestfold.
– It was consideration of life and health and traffic safety that was the main reason for this choice, says municipal director Finn-Øyvind Langfjell to Dagbladet.
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That’s why they dump the snow
Langfjell points out that there was so much fresh snow when the snow was dumped into the lake on New Year’s that the pollution was considered to be minor.
Since then, Horten municipality has arranged for two disposals in two places, and therefore hopes to avoid the same in the future.
The neighboring municipality of Holmestrand dumped snow into the fjord for the first time yesterday, explains municipal director Lars Joakim Tveit.
– Then we made sure that the snow was neither salted nor contaminated. We informed the State Administrator of the decision, and we made sure that there was no risk to either flora or fauna. It is of course something we do not want to do, but unfortunately it was necessary yesterday, says Tveit.
– How do you justify this decision?
– Drilled and blasted in almost every hill and knoll
– It is socially critical to keep the roads open, so that the emergency services can get there, children can get to school and to keep the main highways open. We have to remove the snow somewhere, replies the municipal director.
As of now, the municipality is not planning to increase its capacity for snow disposal on land, but does not rule out that it may become relevant in the future.
– If this happens several winters in a row, we may have to consider increasing our capacity, but we are not particularly worried about that, says the municipal director.
Larvik municipality in Vestfold has also dumped snow in the lake this winter, explains Hildegunn Sørbø, municipal manager for property and technical operations.
– It is a goal to establish more snow dumps on land, as soon as possible, says Sørbø to Dagbladet.
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Not desirable, but…
It is overfishing, development in the beach zone, over-fertilisation, emissions from sewage systems, environmental toxins and climate change that are the main reasons why the Oslo Fjord is struggling to breathe.
According to The Norwegian Environment Agency snow from plowing may contain substances harmful to health and the environment, microplastics, sand, mud, gravel, salt and other waste that may be harmful or disadvantageous to the environment when the snow is deposited.
They emphasize that dumping snow into seas or waterways is therefore not desirable when the snow comes from densely populated areas, cities or highly trafficked areas. This should only be allowed where disposal on land is difficult to implement.
– We are not heard
You must have permission from the State Administrator to dump contaminated snow into the sea, but snow that is free of pollution and waste can be dumped without a special permit, writes The state administrator in Nordland in a press release from earlier this week.
Snow from heavily trafficked areas can be significantly contaminated, and dumping this snow then requires a special permit from the State Administrator, but it is the “owner” of this snow, for example a municipality, who is responsible for applying for a permit.
They also have an independent responsibility for assessing the pollution potential in the snow.
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Considered by several
The other municipalities around the Oslofjord have not dumped snow in the fjord, but several municipalities are considering doing so – if the situation warrants it.
– The landfill options are starting to get tight. We hope to avoid that. In that case, it must be the last resort, says municipal director Bjørn Gudbjørgsrud to Dagbladet.
Halden municipality also describes snow disposal as a challenge.
– There is a lot of snow in Halden this winter, and it is difficult to find suitable space for everything. Our temporary snow dump in the center is now about to be full, says communications advisor Henrik Diskerud Meyer in Halden municipality to Dagbladet.
– Never experienced such a dark Oslofjord
The municipality is now investigating the possibilities of establishing an additional snow dump on land, but this will in that case involve more driving to move snow. The municipality will therefore not rule out the possibility of dumping some snow in the fjord.
– We hope we will be able to avoid that, says Meyer.
The neighboring municipality of Fredrikstad is in the same situation, technical director Atle Holten told Dagbladet.
Frogn municipality informs Dagbladet that snow dumping in the fjord is currently not relevant.
– We are constantly considering how to solve this, says technical manager, Gro Ravne, to Dagbladet.
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Say no
Several municipalities state that this is currently not applicable, and that this is something they will try to avoid for the longest time if there are new rounds with large amounts of snow. This applies to Sarpsborg, Råde, Oslo, Tønsberg and Nesodden, among others.
Nor is it legal in Oslo, emphasizes the municipality.
In Tønsberg, they will consider all other options before dumping the snow into the lake, and the municipality therefore does not think it will be an issue.
The Oslo Fjord full of snipe, boat wrecks and spray tips
– Then we will look at using areas which, as of today, are more resource-intensive to use, but which can work. We will try to avoid dumping in the sea as far as possible, says municipal director Mette Vikan Andersen to Dagbladet.
At Nesodden, it is not considered at all, says Anja Antonsen, communications officer in Nesodden municipality.
– Through our winter maintenance agreement, we have placed a ban on the dumping of masses of snow or ice in the sea, water or ponds, says Antonsen.
2024-01-20 13:13:09
#Dumped #sea #resort
