Seisukoha küsimine

To Espoo Point of Contact Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland

The following countries are to be notified:

Germany, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Norway

Notification of environmental impact assessment of the Eastern Ring Road

Legal authority

The Espoo Convention1 on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary

Context, which has been incorporated into the Environmental Impact Assessment

Directive2 and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive3, along with the

Danish Public Roads Act4, requires the parties to notify and enter into

consultations with affected countries and carry out transboundary environmental

impact assessments.

Denmark hereby notifies Germany, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,

Finland, Sweden and Norway of consultations of public authorities on the scoping

of the environmental impact assessment of transboundary environmental impacts,

in response to the requirement to conduct an environmental impact assessment

process for the Eastern Ring Road project. Notification is given pursuant to Article

7 of the EIA Directive.

Description of the Eastern Ring Road project

On 28 June 2021, a political agreement was reached between the Danish

government and a number of parties on the “Infrastructure Plan 2035”. Based on

this agreement, the Ministry of Transport published the political terms of

reference for the environmental impact assessment of the Eastern Ring Road in

April 2023. The terms of reference state that the Eastern Ring Road is to be

planned around an immersed tunnel along the east coast of Amager.

The Eastern Ring Road will connect the Helsingør motorway in the north with the

Øresund motorway in the south, with four possible access points at Nordhavn,

Lynetteholm, Prøvestenen and Kastrup; see also map in figure 1.

Landscape and Forestry

case-no 2023 - 106578

Ref. mveje

Date 15. March 2024

1 Convention of 25 February 1991 on Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment 2 Directive 2011/92/EU of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment 3 Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, and Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment 4 Consolidated Act no 421 of 25 April 2023 on public roads etc.

Danish Environmental Protection Agency • Tolderlundsvej 5 • DK-5000 Odense C Tel. +45 72 54 40 00 • CVR 25798376 • EAN 5798000860810 - [email protected] - www.mst.dk

2

Figure 1 The Eastern Ring Road will run along the east coast of Amager, connecting the Helsingør motorway in the north with the Øresund motorway in the south.

The immersed tunnel will be made up of several individual tunnel elements, to be

produced at the tunnel element factory and then towed by sea to the project site

outside Copenhagen. The tunnel elements will be produced at the Fehmarnbelt

Fixed Link tunnel element factory in Rødbyhavn on Lolland.

The elements will placed end to end on the seabed in a pre-dredged tunnel trench.

Once they are in place, the tunnel elements will be covered with a protective layer

and the seabed restored on top of the trench.

In the continued work on the design and environmental impact assessment of the

Eastern Ring Road, a wide range of technical and environmental matters need to

be investigated in more detail. For example, the final design of the tunnel, the

technical solutions for the four different access points, the capacity of the road and

the connections to the surrounding road network have to be determined. As part of

the project, raw materials for the construction of the tunnel are also expected to be

extracted at sea in an area still to be confirmed. Finally, it remains to be clarified

whether relocating wastewater pipes, for example, will result in any new discharge

points into the sea.

For more information about the Eastern Ring Road, including the continued

process, please visit the project website: Eastern Ring Road . The website is

updated regularly.

3

Possible transboundary impacts on the environment

Based on the project description (see preceding text), the following issues have

been initially identified as relevant to investigate and assess further in relation to

potential transboundary impacts during the construction and operational phases

of the project: changes in hydrography and sediment dispersion, impacts on

marine flora and fauna, water quality, underwater noise, CO2 emissions, shipping

and traffic conditions on land. This list is not necessarily exhaustive.

Invitation to participate in the consultation process

The task of preparing an environmental impact assessment of the Eastern Ring

Road project is being undertaken by the state-owned company Sund & Bælt, which

has been delegated the task by order of the Minister of Transport. According to the

Executive Order, the Danish Transport Authority will handle the necessary

regulatory matters.

The environmental impact assessment of the Eastern Ring Road is covered by the

process described in Chapter 2a of the Danish Public Roads Act on environmental

impact assessment of state road projects. This means that Sund & Bælt may choose

to obtain a scoping opinion from the Danish Transport Authority before drawing

up the environmental impact report. Among other things, the Authority will base

its opinion on the results of a consultation with relevant Danish authorities 20.

March to 19. april. In parallel with the Danish authorities, possible affected states

will be consulted in accordance with the rules of the Espoo Convention.

Following the consultation and the scoping opinion from the Danish Transport

Authority, the environmental impact assessment of the Eastern Ring Road is

expected to be carried out up to and including 2025. The environmental impact

report will then be sent out for public consultation in Denmark, and the Espoo

report will be sent to potentially affected states, probably for 8 weeks.

The documentation will be translated into the relevant languages; however, maps

will only be available in Danish and English. Based on the environmental impact

assessment and consultation, a political decision will be made on a possible

Construction Act for the Eastern Ring Road.

If you wish to participate in the environmental impact assessment process and

have any requests or comments on the potential transboundary environmental

impacts to be investigated in the environmental impact report, please send your

request for participation or comments no later than 19.04.2024 to [email protected],

quoting reference number: 2023 - 106578

Kind regards, Martin Vestergård Jensen AC-medarbejder | Landskab & Skov | Miljøvurdering & Espoo +45 | +45 29 61 70 53 | [email protected]

Suur-Ameerika 1 / Tallinn 10122 / 626 2802/ [email protected] / www.kliimaministeerium.ee/

Registrikood 70001231

Vastavalt nimekirjale

22.03.2024 nr 6-3/24/1428-2

Taani „Eastern Ring Road“ projekti piiriülene

keskkonnamõju hindamine

Taani on piiriülese keskkonnamõju hindamise konventsiooni (Espoo konventsiooni) alusel

teavitanud Eestit „Eastern Ring Road“ projektist.

Kirjale on lisatud Taani saadetud ingliskeelne teade, milles on kirjeldatud projekti ning selle

elluviimisega kaasnevat keskkonnamõju. „Eastern Ring Road“ projekt hakkaks ühendama

Helsingør ja Øresund kiirteesid, juurdepääsupunkte on kavandatud neli. Projekteerimise ja

keskkonnamõju hindamise (KMH) menetluse käigus on kavas uurida erinevaid tehnilisi lahendusi

ning keskkonna-alaseid aspekte, näiteks tunneli konstruktsioon, juurdepääsupunktide lahendused,

tee mahutavus ning ühendused ümbritseva teevõrguga. KMH menetluses on käimas nn hindamise

ulatuse kindlaksmääramise etapp.

Lähtuvalt Taani määratud vastamistähtajast ootame 10. aprilliks 2024 põhjendatud arvamusi selle

kohta, kas Eesti peaks osalema „Eastern Ring Road“ projekti piiriülese keskkonnamõju hindamise

menetluses. Juhul, kui peate vajalikuks Eesti osalemist menetluses, on oodatud ka põhjendatud

arvamused selle kohta, milline oluline kahjulik piiriülene keskkonnamõju võib Eestile kaasneda,

et arendaja saaks sellega arvestada keskkonnamõju hindamise materjalide koostamisel.

Lugupidamisega

(allkirjastatud digitaalselt)

Antti Tooming

Elurikkuse ja keskkonnakaitse asekantsler

Lisa: Taani teade

Rainer Persidski, 626 2973

[email protected]