In Øygarden municipality west of Bergen, construction of the new four-lane Sotra link started this winter. The approach road to the city is the most expensive single project for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration ever. But since Friday, parts of the construction work have been legally illegal. For that, the State Administrator in Vestland revokes another zoning plan which, among other things, applies to the area where the start of construction for the Sotrasamband plan was officially marked in March. The background is that the Civil Ombudsman believes that this second plan has been adopted in violation of the requirements of the Natural Diversity Act. – We have not done the job well enough in relation to the Natural Diversity Act, admits acting state administrator Gunnar O. Hæreid in Vestland. Photo: Kaia Viki / news Building now without a legal plan Representatives of “all” governing powers were present at the marking of the start of construction for the Sotra association. But the State Administrator did not know that the plan they have now canceled also applies to the section where the construction work actually started last winter. – I wouldn’t have been able to do that. It is not unusual for a building section to be covered by several zoning plans, says Assistant State Administrator Gunnar O. Hæreid, who signed the cancellation decision. In the extension of the Sotra connection, Øygarden has namely planned an almost ten kilometer long road northwards from Kolltveit on Sotra via Fjæreidpollen to the important industrial area of Ågotnes. The Sotrasambandet motorway will replace today’s Sotra bridge, and will now be built from Kolltveit in the west. Øygarden municipality is planning an extension from Kolltveit to Ågotnes. The Kolltveit area is therefore included in both this regulatory plan, which has now been cancelled, and the Sotrasambandet plan, where the construction machinery is already running at full capacity. – We have now received information from the municipality that work is already underway on a small area of the plan. Then our decision will have greater consequences than we saw before us, he says. He denies that it was illegal to start the construction work, because then the zoning plan was valid. But since Friday, the situation is different. – From a legal point of view, you can say that what is happening now is illegal, but they must be allowed to continue while we are advised. Too bad a nature assessment The reason why this situation has arisen is the Natural Diversity Act. In the extension of the Sotra connection, Øygarden has thus planned a road north from Kolltveit to the important industrial area of Ågotnes. The State Administrator in Vestland rejected the Nature Conservation Association’s complaint against the regulatory plan for this section. But last week the Civil Ombudsman determined that the State Administrator’s decision violated the requirements of the Natural Diversity Act. Large parts of the planning area go through natural areas that are untouched today. The state administrator did not make an adequate assessment of the consequences under the Biodiversity Act, and it is unclear whether the knowledge base was sufficient, the Civil Ombudsman believes. The regulatory plan opens up a ten kilometer long four-lane road here in Øygarden municipality, in the extension of the Sotra connection. The state administrator admits that the plan has been drawn up and approved in violation of the Natural Diversity Act. Photo: Gunvar Mikkelsen / FNF Hordaland The state admits the mistake On Friday, the State Administrator acknowledged the mistake, and revoked both his own decision and the zoning plan adopted by the municipal council in 2019. – Our decision is invalid and we must cancel the zoning plan the municipality has adopted, says Hæreid. – The project will seize untouched nature, and several critical and highly endangered species will be negatively affected. The civil ombudsman says the case requires extensive assessment under the Natural Diversity Act and that those assessments are lacking. There is an error in the analysis. He emphasizes that the municipality is the planning authority, but admits that the State Administrator in his complaint handling does not pick up on the fact that this has not been handled well enough. – We haven’t done the job well enough, says Hæreid. The case will therefore be sent back for further processing in the municipality. The complainant is satisfied – When they cancel the plan, I have received full support, says Gunvar Mikkelsen. He is the coordinator of the Forum for nature and outdoor life Hordaland, which complained about the case to the Civil Ombudsman. – We complained that neither the municipality nor the State Administrator had assessed the basic aspects of the Natural Diversity Act, i.e. weighing the intervention against the natural values. Gunvar Mikkelsen in the Forum for nature and outdoor life Hordaland received support from the Civil Ombudsman, and thus the State Administrator in Vestland violated the Natural Diversity Act. Photo: FNF Hordaland – Many people do not follow the law Mikkelsen points to the Storting passing the Natural Diversity Act almost 14 years ago. – Countless planning decisions are made every day around the country. We have become used to this law not being used as it is intended. He believes that the practice has not been good enough in many municipalities. – The requirement is perhaps perceived more as a formality than a law that must be followed correctly, when you see that you get away with rather poor mapping and facile assessments in the municipal council. The potential for improvement is great. Now I hope that the assessments in development cases will be done more thoroughly, says Mikkelsen. Assistant State Administrator Hæreid partially agrees. – In some cases, I see that the requirements in the Natural Diversity Act are hardly relevant. In other development plans, good assessments have been made according to the Natural Diversity Act. – And now they have also failed themselves? – We just have to take that with us and learn from it in our work. On 22 March, Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård and Øygarden mayor Tom Georg Indrevik (centre) marked the start of construction for the Sotrasambandet. But now a zoning plan has been revoked and construction here is therefore legally illegal, due to a lack of natural diversity assessments. The municipality protests Neither the mayor of Øygarden, Tom Georg Indrevik (H), was aware that the zoning plan, which has now been stopped, applies to the area where construction is fully underway. – But the municipal administration knew enough. What has been started is a temporary crossing at the western end of the Sotra connection, he explains. The municipality is now asking the State Administrator to reverse its decision. – We point out that the southern part of the Kolltveit-Ågotnes planning area is not covered by the challenges that the Civil Ombudsman believes have been insufficiently assessed, says Indrevik. In the next few years, the four-lane Sotrasambandet (right) will be built to relieve today’s rush hour Sotrabrua (left). The entire route for the new Sotrasambandet ends at Kolltveit in Øygarden. There, the municipality is planning an extension to Ågotnes, but the zoning plan has now been stopped. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) fired a volley of dynamite in intense torrential rain when the start of construction for the Sotra Sambandet was officially marked in March. Now work in this construction area has legally become illegal. – Have to see if cancellation was invalid Hæreid will now reassess the case. – We have to look at whether our cancellation of the zoning plan was invalid because we did not know that work was underway on a small part of the planning area. – Do you retract the admission that the State Administrator did not do what the Natural Diversity Act requires? – No, that’s for sure. But we have to look at what consequences it will have. When mistakes have been made in an administrative decision, it sometimes happens that the decision must nevertheless be upheld as valid if the consequences for society are great if the decision becomes invalid. We did not have all the facts on the table when we made the decision on Friday and have to look at this again. It is, for example, not certain that the error affects the specific area they have started building on, says Hæreid. He says he will quickly take a decision on how the lack of assessment under the Natural Diversity Act should be weighted against the consequences of declaring the zoning plan invalid. – This is a high priority for me to advise as soon as possible.
ttn-69
Is building a motorway “illegally” – has not assessed the natural consequences – news Vestland
