Information on the EIA procedure of the Loviisa power plant

The purpose of the EIA procedure is to assess the project’s environmental impacts and foster attention to them in the project’s planning phase. In addition, the procedure aims to improve access to information and the opportunities to participate in the planning of the project.

The EIA procedure is based on the Act on the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (252/2017) and the Government Decree on the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (277/2017).

Two-phased procedure

In the first phase, an Environmental Impact Assessment Programme (the EIA Programme) is drawn up. It describes a plan concerning how the environmental impacts caused by the project are assessed.

The second phase includes the assessment of the environmental impacts and the results are presented in the environmental impact assessment report (the EIA Report). The EIA procedure is carried out before licence or permit procedures, and its purpose is to influence the planning of the project and decision-making.

Coordinating authorities and hearing

In this EIA procedure, the coordinating authority is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

Parallel to the EIA procedure conducted in Finland, an international hearing in accordance with the Espoo Convention should be organised in projects that may have impacts extending beyond the borders of Finland. The Ministry of the Environment of Finland is responsible for the international hearing involving Finland.

 

The stages of the EIA procedure.