FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
nium or thorium requires an EIA. The results of an EIA procedure are reflected in the EIA report and a justified statement issued based thereon by the ELY Centre and are to be taken into con - sideration when issuing a permit for a project. The right of appeal on the grounds of lack or inadequacy of the EIA is linked to the approval of/appeal against the permit decision. 2.2 Impact of Environmentally Protected Areas on Mining The areas included in the European Communi - ty’s Natura 2000 network are subject to specific limitations on allowed operations, as set out in the Nature Conservation Act. If a project or plan, either individually or in combination with other projects and plans, is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the ecological value of a site included in the Natura 2000 network, and the site has been included in, or is intended for inclu - sion in the Natura 2000 network for the purpose of protecting this ecological value, the planner or implementer of the project is required to con - duct an appropriate assessment of its impacts (Natura Assessment). The same correspondingly applies to any project or plan outside the site which is likely to have a significantly harmful impact on the site. The mining authority shall ensure that the Natura Assessment is carried out and shall thereafter request an opinion on the Natura Assessment from the ELY Centre and the authority in charge of the site in question. No authority is empow - ered to grant a permit for the implementation of a project, or to adopt or ratify a plan, if the assessment procedure indicates that the project or plan would have a significant adverse impact on the particular ecological values for the pro - tection of which the site has been included in, or is intended for inclusion in, the Natura 2000 network.
In the above-mentioned case, a permit can only be granted if the government decides that the project or plan must, in the absence of alterna - tive solutions, be carried out for imperative rea - sons of overriding public interest. Furthermore, where a site hosts a priority natural habitat type referred to in Annex I of the Habitats Directive (92/43/ETY), or a priority species referred to in Annex II, a further precondition for granting a permit or adopting or ratifying a plan is that a reason relating to human health or public safe - ty, or to beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment, or any other imperative reason of overriding public interest so demands. In the latter case, an opinion shall be requested from the European Commission. In addition, geological surveys and prospecting are not allowed in national parks or strict nature reserves. In other nature reserves, those opera - tions are allowed only with permission from the authority or agency in charge of the site, pro - vided that the conservation objectives of the site are not jeopardised. Protection of plant and animal species includ - ing but not limited to important resting places of protected species and trees hosting a large bird of prey may also restrict exploration or mining activities, even outside an enforced conserva - tion area based on the mandatory regulations of the Nature Conservation Act, unless a deroga - tion from the protection provisions is granted for the planned operations. Further, protection of antiquities may result in restrictions on exploration or mining based on the Antiquities Act (No 295/1963, muinaismuis- tolaki ).
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