The European Green Party at its Spring Council Meeting in Zagreb, strongly condemned the decision of the Norwegian Government to dump into the Førde Fjord in Western Norway.
The Norwegian Government has given the company Nordic Mining license to dump between 4 - 6 million tons of tailings per year for 50 years in Western Norway. The plan is to remove around 250 million tons of mineral stone from the nearby Engebø Mountain. The annual mining waste would include 1,200 tons of sulfuric acid, 1,000 tons of sodium, 1,000 tons of phosphoric acid, 360 tons of carbonic acid and 90 tons of acrylamide as well as other acids, solvents and heavy metals including copper, nickel, lead, zinc and mercury.
Monica Frassoni and Reinhard Bütikofer, EGP Co-Chairs, stated: We are deeply concerned about the plan of the Norwegian Government to dump into the Førde Fjord. Marine environmental management must be considered a matter of international interest, as the consequences of non-sustainable management will have a wide impact, and as ill-advised national decisions may set unfortunate precedents. We urge the Norwegian Government to use all its power to stop this decision, and to follow the Water Framework Directive."
The European Green Party encourages political parties and Governments all over Europe to speak up against the Norwegian Government in this serious matter, to put the ecological values of the iconic Norwegian fjord landscape above narrow economic interests.
