An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords

Presented by Rebecca Gardner, Anchor QEA AS Kristoffer Næs, Norwegian Instutitue for Water Research July 29, 2014

http://khongthe.com/wallpapers/nature/preikestolen-pulpit-rock-46484.jpg

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Presentation Overview • New regulations and

environmental goals • Status in Norway today • The Grenlands Fjords

case study

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Norway’s Focus on the Environment • Significant source control work began in 1980s,

but contaminant flux from legacy sediments persists in few industrial areas

• Comprehensive/national policy established to address issues and ensure: − Compliance with European Union (EU)

environmental directives – mainly the Water Framework Directive (WFD)

− Secondary goal of sustainable management of seafood industry with minimal restrictions

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Water Framework Directive • Mandate to EU member states and EFTA partners • WFD establishes combined approach:

− Ecological and chemical status goals on catchment scale

− Stepwise process begins with increased technology-based and cost-effective source control

− Polluting substances are prioritized on the basis of risk

− Receiving environment measures are taken when source control alone cannot achieve status goals

− Considerations for heavily modified water bodies (HMWB)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

WFD Objectives • Environmental objectives

to achieve, by 2021: – good ecological status and

good chemical status – good ecological potential

and good chemical status for artificial and HMWBs

– prevent deterioration of the current status

• High status is defined as the biological, chemical and morphological conditions associated with no or very low human pressure

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An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Defining Status Goals Ecological status • Quality of the structure and

functioning of aquatic ecosystems associated with surface waters (Annex V of the WFD).

• Determined by the status of a set of selected biological, physical-chemical and morphological indicators

• Considers biological quality elements, e.g., “composition and abundance of aquatic flora”

• For HMWBs, measures that maximize potential without affecting purpose of modification must be taken

Chemical status • Concentrations of certain

pollutants in relation to environmental quality standards (EQS)

• The chemical status of water bodies is determined by measuring the concentration of 45 priority substances

• All substances < EQS to achieve ‘good’ status

• Good chemical status objective applies for all water bodies, including the HMWBs

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

The Water Regulation • Norway’s formalization of the

WFD goals • Establishes 11 River Basin

Districts and requires adoption of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) that include follow up measures

• Provides a framework for setting environmental objectives that ensure integrated protection and sustainable use of the water bodies

River Basin Districts (Vann-nett, 2010 – www.miljøstatus.no)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Norway Initial Assessment • Good or high ecological

status >50% all water bodies (lakes, fjords, etc.)

• Few fjords with poor or worse chemical status

• Source control working well • Diffuse legacy pollution in

sediment regarded as primary sources

• National action costs estimated at $1B-4.5B USD

Ecological Status in Surface Waters (Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, May 2013)

Status in 9 Norwegian Fjords based on surveys of mussels (Climate and Pollution Agency, 2013 – www.environment.no)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Water Resource Pressures

• Main pressure types: − Pollution: point, diffuse, and

trans-boundary sources − Water abstraction and

regulations − Morphological alterations − Resource management − Biological

• This talk focuses on contaminant pressures in fjord (coastal) waters Top Ten Most Important Pressures on

Norwegian Water Bodies (Vann-nett, 2010 – www.miljøstatus.no)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Norway’s National Plan • Achieve good ecological and

chemical status • Assess status and consider

sediment cleanup actions in: − 17 major fjord regions − 10 large public harbors − 109 shipyards

• Plans shall be risk-based and integrate sustainability objectives

• RBMPs being finalized now – revised action plans will follow 17 Priority Fjord Regions

(Norwegian Environment Agency – www.miljødirektoratet.no)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Where does the pollution come from?

Source: Report No. 12 to the Storting (2001–2002), Norwegian Ministry of the Environment

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Norway’s Challenges for Industrial Areas • Regulations on industry have resulted in

significant discharge reductions • Diffuse legacy pollution affects vast areas

− Industrial fjord areas average 10 to 25 square miles

• Silled fjords cause low basin flushing rates • Sedimentation is slow • Fjords are deep • Cost

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Case Study: Grenlands Fjords Dioxin

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Grenlands Fjords Profile

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

History • Magnesium production

began in 1951 at Herøya – dioxins/furans formed as by-products

• Major discharge reductions in 1975/1990

• Complete facility shutdown in 2002

• PCBs, PAHs and TBT are also elevated from various other sources

Dioxin concentrations (μg TEQ/kg) in sediment from early 2000s after facility shutdown (Telemark Fylkesmann, 2012)

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Effects of Source Controls

Dioxin Emissions (TEQ, g/year)

Dioxin Concentrations at depth in Frierfjord

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Effects of Source Controls

Source: Miljødirektoratet, Overvåking av miljøgifter i fisk og skalldyr fra Grenlandsfjordene 2012. | M-8/2013

Cod Liver Crab

Langesund Freierfjorden

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

How to improve the condition? • Verify source control

− point and non-point sources from land and industry

• Confirm knowledge of the system and employ appropriate risk assessment tools

• Employ integrated management decision support tools − biotic and abiotic models

• Develop and test effective remediation technologies

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Informed Risk Assessments • Use tiered approaches that

consider: − Location-specific conditions − Multiple data points including

sediment, pore water, and benthic/fish tissue concentrations

• Use of standardized EQS values for sediment can over predict risk and lead to larger, more expensive remedial measures

Modified from: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/ images/page/foodchain.jpg

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Decision Making Tools • SedFlex-tool integrated model

− Abiotic: simulates sources, sinks and transports of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

− Biotic: simulates the intake and bioaccumulation of POPs in a food web

• Multi-criteria decisions − Effects, consequences, benefits, and costs

• Life-cycle assessments − Can the action be more sustainable?

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Inner Fjord Measures – Example

Source: NIVA, 2006. REPORT 5216-2006. SF-tool multimedia model package. Model code description and application examples from the Grenlandsfjords

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Outer Fjords Measures – Example

Source: NIVA, 2006. REPORT 5216-2006. SF-tool multimedia model package. Model code description and application examples from the Grenlandsfjords

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Technologies • Water depths targeted for

measures can be deep (<100 m) limiting dredging

• Thick isolation caps in natural areas would destroy good quality habitats that are intended to be protected

• Innovation – thin layers of natural and manufactured sorbent materials to reduce bioavailability

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Release of dioxins in flux chambers

Source: Cornelissen et al. 2012, Environ. Sci. Technol., 2012, 46 (21), pp 12030–12037

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Grenlandsfjords Potential Measures • Simulations indicate inner fjord measures will

not alter tissue concentrations in outer fjord • Measures to stabilize inner fjord hot spots could

prevent local spreading – will not improve status in outer fjord

• Measures in outer fjord could reduce time to achieve good status in outer fjord and bay

• Thin caps could be good solution – research to evaluate impacts to fauna is ongoing

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Summary • Norway’s current status is quite good • Problems in the few affected fjords are complex:

− Work to reduce industrial discharges continues

− Ecological status is mainly good and on track

− Chemical status is challenging in industrial areas

− Balance of measure to improve chemical status without degrading ecological status

• Integrated approach of source control, targeted measures, and monitoring is key to maintain cost control

An Integrated Approach to Achieving Environmental Goals in Norway's Fjords Rebecca Gardner

Questions / Discussion