FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Kari Marttinen, Laura Leino, Outi Iso-Markku and Aino Lahti-Nuuttila, Erottaja Attorneys Ltd
16. Environmental Disclosure and Information 16.1 Disclosure and Reporting Requirements Under the Environmental Protection Act, if an excep- tional situation causes emissions or generates waste (or if there is an immediate threat of such an event), an operator or a holder of the waste must notify the rel- evant authority immediately. Further, permit-holders, registered operators or related holders of waste have an obligation to notify the relevant authority if they are not able to comply with the permit or relevant gov- ernmental decrees owing to an exceptional situation. If waste or some other substance that may cause contamination has entered the soil or groundwa- ter, the polluter must notify the supervisory author- ity immediately. If there is reason to suspect that the soil or groundwater has been contaminated, the party responsible for treatment (whose operations have caused the contamination) must establish the level of contamination of the area and the need for treatment. The report must be delivered to the state supervisory authority. 16.2 Public Environmental Information In general, most documents prepared by or delivered to an authority are publicly available under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (No 621/1999) ( julkisuuslaki ). Public authorities keep registers of envi- ronmental information regarding environmental per- mits, for example, so information may be requested from the relevant authorities. To some extent, mate- rials are also available through public web services. However, there are some limitations to the publicity of documents/information – for example, corporate secrets are considered classified. The Supreme Administrative Court addressed this topic in a precedent (KHO 2024:70), whereby it bal- anced the publicity of environmental information with questions relating to water security. The court ruled that the exact location of the groundwater plant’s monitoring pipes and water intake wells could be considered as confidential information.
15.4 Rights and Obligations Applicable to Waste Operators Waste operators must comply with the obligations regulated by the Waste Act. One fundamental princi- ple is the order of priority ‒ according to which, waste must be handled in the following order of priority: reuse, recycling, and other means of recovery and disposal. A waste holder should know the properties of the waste relevant to organising waste management. The waste holder must, if necessary, disclose this infor- mation to other waste management operators. Waste may not be abandoned or treated in an uncontrolled manner. Waste management may not endanger or harm health, the environment, general safety or public or private interests. All professional waste collectors are obligated to reg- ister in the waste management register or apply for an environmental permit. A waste operator must monitor and control its waste management to ensure that the activity fulfils the applicable legal requirements and that the information necessary for the supervision of the activity may be submitted to the supervisory authority. If a waste operator does not comply with the afore- mentioned obligations, the supervisory authority may prohibit it from continuing or repeating the conduct, order it to fulfil its obligations, order it to restore the environment or to eliminate the harm, or order tempo- rary measures concerning the waste. The party that acted in violation of regulations is responsible for any costs incurred due to the temporary measures. The supervisory authority will, unless it is clearly unneces- sary, reinforce an order it has issued by a notice of a conditional fine. Administrative fines may be imposed on a party that fails to submit a notification for registration in the waste management register or neglects other report- ing duties. Several different types of breaches against the waste legislation are punishable as criminal offenc- es either under the Waste Act or the Criminal Code.
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