The Standing Committee on Municipal and Regional Affairs is considering private members' bills from multiple parties on Norway's implementation of the EU's revised wastewater directive. The proposers argue the directive will impose enormous costs on Norwegian municipalities and households, and call on the government to use its national flexibility to adapt it to Norwegian conditions, including by redefining urban settlements based on actual pollution burden.
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These are the proposals in the document, not decisions. See the votes for the outcome.
Parliament asks the government to calculate what implementing the EU's revised wastewater directive will cost, and to produce an overview of CO2 emissions from new treatment facilities, energy use during implementation, and the regional consequences the directive will create.
Parliament asks the government to present analyses of the total cost of implementing the EU's revised wastewater directive, and its cost to individual municipalities and households that will face higher fees.
Parliament asks the government to make clear to the EU that Norway intends to invoke its reservation right under Article 102 of the EEA Agreement if Norway is not granted adaptations or exemptions from the EU's revised wastewater directive, including at minimum exemption from the new Article 6 (reducing the threshold from 2,000 and 10,000 to 1,000 population equivalents), and preservation of the exemption for less sensitive areas, so that Norway's interests are protected.
Parliament asks the government to ensure Norway uses its national flexibility in implementing the EU's revised wastewater directive so that Norwegian conditions are protected in a cost-effective manner, and that the definition of urban settlements is updated in line with the directive's objectives and guidance criteria, with particular emphasis on actual pollution burden.
Parliament asks the government to ensure Norwegian environmental conditions, topography, and socioeconomic realities are considered and form the basis for cost-benefit analyses when the EU's revised wastewater directive is implemented in Norway.
Parliament asks the government to ensure that calculations of population equivalents under the EU's revised wastewater directive are conducted in a way that is practical, understandable, and adapted to Norwegian conditions.
Parliament asks the government to develop an updated calculation method for urban settlements that reflects actual pollution burden and works for both small and large urban areas, so that implementing the EU's revised wastewater directive is as accurate and cost-effective as possible.
Parliament asks the government to ensure that when implementing the EU's revised wastewater directive, Norway's interests are protected as well as possible, and that implementation is adapted as fully as possible to Norwegian conditions.
Parliament asks the government to ensure better regional coordination of wastewater treatment investments, with the goal that treatment facility investments meet the highest possible environmental standards and create the lowest overall environmental footprint.
Parliament asks the government to explore a support scheme for wastewater treatment investments designed to encourage the use of technology with particularly strong environmental benefits and to test new solutions for efficient treatment and high-level waste recycling from the wastewater sector.
Parliament asks the government to conduct a thorough assessment of the environmental consequences of a revised definition of urban settlements. The assessment must address impacts on water environments, land use, material use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other relevant environmental effects, and must be completed before Parliament takes a position on the revised wastewater directive.