Annex III.d

A central piece of legislation is the Pollution Act (Forurensingsloven, LOV-1981-03-13-6). Anyone who runs a business that can lead to acute pollution has a duty to establish preparedness against acute pollution that may arise from their own business. Strict concessions are given to a company who plans to start production. Chapter 6 of the Pollution Act deals with acute pollution. The purpose of this chapter is to establish the national preparedness system against acute pollution. In cases of pollution or the risk for pollution, the polluter must notify the authorities (§ 39). The polluter or potential polluter shall (§ 46) take action to prevent, detect, stop, remove and limit the effect of pollution. The polluter also has the duty (§ 47) to assist the municipality or the state when these levels take action to control the pollution (Kystverket, 2022b).

A chapter in the Pollution Act describes how state authorities, municipalities and private actors shall control acute pollution or risks for acute pollution. The roles and responsibilities in different phases of acute pollution incidents are also listed in the ‘Administrative guidelines of the National Coastal Administration to municipalities and intermunicipal committees on acute pollution’, first published in 2009 and later updated in 2012 and 2019. The publication covers preparedness, obligation to act, procedures in a national action, planning, health and safety, logistics including material resources, personnel, economic aspects and documentation (Kystverket, 2019).

Individual incidents of plastic pollution can, after a concrete assessment, be considered acute pollution according to §38 of the Pollution Act. An example is the discharge of plastic pellets from the vessel Trans Carrier in 2020. The Norwegian Coastal Administration then initiated a state action.

The Notification on maritime spatial plans (Helhetlige forvaltningsplaner for de norske havområdene: Meld. St. 20 (2019–2020)) states that the risk of damage to the environment and the living marine resources as a result of acute pollution must be kept at a low level, and that it must be continuously sought to be reduced further. Furthermore, it has been established that the high level of security in sea transport must be maintained and strengthened. The state preparedness for acute pollution must be adapted and dimensioned based on the environmental risk applicable at any given time (Klima- og miljødepartementet, 2021).

According to the Act on Environmental Protection on Svalbard (Svalbardmiljøloven, LOV-2001-06-15-79), on Svalbard and in the territorial waters around Svalbard, the Governor (“sysselmesteren”, before 2021 “sysselmannen”) has the operational responsibility to act on acute pollution, while the National Coastal Administration has the overall responsibility and can take the lead in actions when this is considered appropriate (Kystverket, 2020b).

The state must ensure preparedness against a major case of acute pollution that is not covered by municipal or private preparedness. The overall national responsibility for dealing with acute pollution on Norwegian territory, in the territorial sea and at Svalbard rests legally with the Ministry of Transport and Communication. The Norwegian Coastal Administration, NCA (Kystverket) through its Department for Emergency Response exercises the practical responsibility for preparedness against acute pollution. In the event of acute pollution incidents, the Department shall ensure that the responsible polluter or local municipality implements the necessary response measures. Tasks include the coordination and training of private, municipal and government resources for preparedness in a national contingency system (Kystverket, 2022b). Chapter 6 of the Pollution Act deals with acute pollution. The purpose of this chapter is to establish the national preparedness system against acute pollution. In such situations, rules on the duty to notify, the duty to be prepared, emergency plans, the duty to take action and the duty to provide assistance therefore apply. In the municipalities, it is the fire service that takes care of preparedness against acute pollution, while state preparedness is taken care of by the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

Individual incidents of plastic pollution can, after a concrete assessment, be considered acute pollution according to Section 38 of the Pollution Act. An example is the discharge of plastic pellets from the vessel Trans Carrier in 2020. The Norwegian Coastal Administration then initiated a state actions. In line with the polluter pays principle, the Coastal Administration has demanded a refund from it legally responsible for the pollution.

A municipality must have emergency preparedness against minor cases of acute pollution which may cause damage within the municipality, and which are not covered by private emergency preparedness. All municipalities participate in inter-municipal committees against acute pollution (Interkommunale utvalg mot akutt forurensing, IUA). 

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (Sjøfartsdirektoratet) supervises Norwegian ships and foreign ships in Norwegian waters based on the Ship Safety Act (Skipssikkerhetsloven, LOV- 2007-02-16-9). When the directorate receives a report on risk for acute pollution from a ship, it will immediately alert the NCA and the Police, and will send its own inspectors to the ship.

The Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) is an advisor to the NCA during government actions against acute pollution, and during actions where the Norwegian Coastal Administration supervises. It provides environmental assessments on the effects of the pollution on the environment, advice on environmental investigations and measures to counteract and reduce the extent of damage, and input for a monitoring plan following the action. The Environment Agency also assists the NCA with resources from the Norwegian Nature Conservancy (Statens Naturoppsyn, SNO) for mapping the spread of pollution and mapping and counting affected seabirds and wild game (Miljødirektoratet, 2022).

The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (Direktoratet for samfunnssikkerhet og beredskap, DSB) is the general authority for incident preparedness. It can assist with rescue operations at sea and assist in the event of chemical pollution. It is responsible for the civil defense organization, which can assist the Coastal administration and the municipalities with capacitities and competences (Kystverket, 2020b).

The Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskeridirektoratet) gives professional advice to the NCA. It will also inform the aquaculture and fishing industries in cases of incidents (Kystverket, 2020b).

The Armed Forces can offer support in rescue at sea, including towing operations (Kystverket, 2020b).

The County Governor (Statsforvalteren) represents the national government on regional level and has an important role in the connection between national and regional/local authorities. The Governors can give advice to the municipalities and the NCA in environmental issues and they have the overall responsibility for clean-up in each region (Kystverket, 2022b).

All the country's municipalities participate in inter-municipal cooperation through the 32 inter-municipal committees against acute pollution (IUA).

In the event of minor incidents, the municipality can implement measures on its own, but often uses the IUA to take care of the preparedness. Municipalities are obliged to assist in national operations (Kystverket, 2022b).

In the Oslofjord area, the coordinating responsibility is delegated from the County Governor to Oslofjordens Friluftsråd, a council made up of the regions and municipalities along the fjord. The council had the coordinating role in the cleanup after the Trans Carrier incident.

Regular beach-cleaning is performed by a mix of public, private and voluntary organisations. Skærgårdstjensten is a number of public organisations in different areas along parts of the Norwegian coast from the south all the way up to Möre og Romsdal who maintain recreation areas. Thanks to the amount of money available for cleaning, there is an increasing new market of private actors. Volunteers are also important. (Interview with Nicolay Moe 7 March 2023)

The Norwegian Centre against marine litter (MARFO) is a government agency under the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. The Centre’s primary objective is to ensure cleaner seas through the reduction of marine litter. It is based in Lofoten and is a leading centre of excellence on the incidence and clean-up of marine litter. It also works on the prevention of litter from sea-based sources. The main tasks of the centre are knowledge overview, coordinated clean-up operations, specialist advice and communication and international cooperation. Established in 2018 as the Norwegian Centre for Oil Spill Preparedness and Marine Environment (SOMM), it got its current name and tasks from 1 January 2022, when its responsibilities for oil spill preparedness were taken over by the Coastal Administration. In September 2022, MARFO established a national collaboration council against marine litter with expertise from government agencies, private sector and NGO’s. The council will identify challenges and solutions for the clean-up of marine litter and ensure a more efficient use of the available resources (MARFO, 2022).

Keep Norway Clean (Hold Norge rent, HNR) started with a clean-up campaign in 1969 and was relaunched as a campaign in 2004. In 2014, HNR was established as a non-profit association and works together with volunteers, businesses and municipalities against littering. Many of these are members of the association themselves. The association invites the whole community to help against littering, both as a member organization and by mobilizing for national clean-up efforts. HNR also contributed to prevention through attitude creation, mapping of waste and identification of sources and causes of littering. HNR also offers advice to municipalities, including in the preparation of action plans against littering. Several years ago HNR developed an online portal for registering information for clean-ups. The data is transferred to the map tool "Rydde", and a new version was further developed by SOMM (now MARFO) in collaboration with HNR. HNR is responsible for user support and population research in Rydde. HNR administers a reimbursement scheme where actors who have expenses related to transport and treatment of collected ownerless marine litter can have these covered. HNR is also involved in international cooperation with similar organisations. HNR receives basic support from the Ministry of Climate and the Environment (Klima- og miljødepartementet, 2021).

A major source of finance is the Norwegian Retailers Environmental Fund (Handelens Miljøfond – HMF), who use money from every plastic bag sold in Norway for the Clean Norway (Rydd Norge) program launched in the autumn of 2020. The goal of the program is to clean 40 percent of the outer coast and prioritized waterways by the end of 2023. The country is divided into ten regions and there are tenders for the work, which has created a market for new actors. According to the website in March 2023 the program has so far used 400 million NOK to collect 1,980 tonnes of plastic from 15,000 km of coastline (Handelens Miljøfond, 2023).

Norway seems to be the Nordic country with the best preparedness for handling pollution, it became obvious when the Trans Carrier incident happened. There are systems for acute pollution in Norway. The challenge in this specific situation was to define this as acute pollution, and due to the geographical spread to define it as a state action under the auspices of the Norwegian Coastal Administration. . Some private persons discovered pellets on the beaches. Skærgårdstjensten started to clean-up and Oslofjordens Friluftsråd took the responsibility for coordination since someone had to do it. It took more than two months before it was classified as acute pollution, so that a national action was initiated and Oslofjordens Friluftsråd got the formal responsibility for coordination from the National Coastal Authority. In this case the clean-up operation was funded by the shipping company through their insurance. It would have been more complicated if the pellets would have come from an unidentified source or if the shipping company had not taken its responsibility (Interview with Nicolay Moe on 7 February 2023).

Any incident involving the release of pellets must be assessed individually as to whether it falls under the definition of acute pollution. In addition, it must be assessed in each case whether the action is to be coordinated nationally by the Norwegian Coastal Administration or the individual municipality. According to the Coastal Administration, the process of initiating a national action will be faster in the future, thanks to the experience from the Trans Carrier incident. It will not have to be negotiated between ministries, as was the case that time, but can be sorted out in a phone call between the Coastal Administration and the Environment Agency (Interview with Rune Bergstrøm on 23 November 2022).