The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for the Southern Gold Line is underway
The planning of the Southern Gold Line mining project is progressing step by step, moving from mineral exploration to environmental impact assessment, permitting, and eventually production. The EIA procedure examines the potential impacts that different project activities may have on the environment and on life in the surrounding areas.
The aim of the assessment is to identify possible impacts already during the planning phase and to ensure that nature, water bodies, and local living conditions can be taken into account as effectively as possible in the project’s solutions.
During the EIA procedure, various studies are carried out, including nature surveys, surface and groundwater studies, as well as other technical investigations. At the same time, different implementation alternatives for the project and their environmental impacts are evaluated.
The area under study and reserved in land-use planning is extensive, but the actual mining operations will eventually take place within a much smaller area. During the mining phase, the state of the environment is continuously monitored, and areas are gradually restored even while operations are ongoing.
The EIA programme has been submitted to the Permitting and Supervisory Authority and became public on 19 February. After that, statements and opinions on the programme are collected before the actual EIA report is prepared.
How the EIA procedure works
In the EIA procedure, the project’s impacts are examined in relation to, for example:
- nature and biodiversity
- surface and groundwater
- landscape
- human living conditions and recreational use of nature
The assessment gathers information about the current state of the area and analyses how mining activities could affect it in the long term.
Anyone who may be affected by the project can participate in the procedure, including local residents, authorities, organisations, and other stakeholders.
Next steps
After the EIA procedure, the project will apply for the necessary permits, such as environmental and water permits and a mining permit. The EIA serves as an important knowledge base for these permitting decisions.
At the same time, the project planning will be refined based on the studies and feedback received.
This is how the EIA process progresses
What does the EIA procedure mean?
The Environmental Impact Assessment procedure is based on the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (252/2017) and the EIA Decree (277/2017). It is applied to projects that may have significant environmental impacts.
EIA is a planning tool
The EIA is not a permitting process. It does not decide whether the project will be implemented, but its results must be considered in later permit decisions.
What does the EIA programme include?
The EIA programme is a plan prepared by the project developer outlining the studies to be conducted in the assessment. It describes the project and its alternatives, the environmental impacts to be assessed, the methods to be used, and how public participation will be organised.
Who is responsible for the EIA procedure?
The project developer is responsible for carrying out the studies. The Permitting and Supervisory Authority acts as the coordinating authority, ensuring that the procedure complies with the law and evaluating whether the studies are sufficient.
How does the EIA progress from programme to report?
The coordinating authority issues a statement on the EIA programme. Based on this, the actual EIA report is prepared, presenting an assessment of the project’s environmental impacts.
