One year has passed since large amounts of silt and mud turned the salmon river Surna brown. Statkraft was responsible for the spill. NVE, the Norwegian Environment Agency and the landowners are still waiting for the results of the investigations, which will say something about the scope and consequences. Statkraft based the spill on the fact that they were required to rehabilitate the power plant up in the mountain, but admit that they were surprised by the amount of sludge that came. Now the representatives of Venstre, SV, Raudt and MDG in the Energy and Environment Committee at the Storting are reacting. – This is an environmental scandal and a very sad event. Here Statkraft must clean up. The burden this discharge causes for the wild salmon and other life in the river comes on top of many other threats, says parliamentary representative Une Bastholm from the Green Party. She points to the effect driving from power production which can affect the spawning grounds, as well as the strain from the farming industry. Bastholm believes that more measures are needed in the future to correct the ecosystem and the populations of salmon and aure in the river. – Here the government must make sure that measures that can remedy the damage are implemented quickly. In addition, the rights holders and landowners must receive reasonable compensation, says Bastholm. – Very serious Former climate and environment minister Ola Elvestuen (V) also believes that it is urgent to introduce large enough measures to restore the quality of the spawning area in what he sees as an important salmon river. Left-wing politician Ola Elvestuen was Minister for Climate and Environment during the Solberg government. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB scanpix – There are plenty of observations that show that there are large amounts of sludge in many places, and the consequences of such large discharges are very serious and negative. This is not something that the river can repair itself, then you have to come in with large sums to restore to restore the quality in the spawning area, says Elvestuen. He thinks it seems that NVE and Statkraft have taken the matter far too lightly. This is what it looked like shortly after the sludge spill. Marius André Jenssen Stenberg – Gotta take the bill Lars Haltbrekken also thinks this is a serious matter that requires clean-up. He is SV’s member of the Energy and Environment Committee. – When Statkraft is responsible for environmental destruction, Statkraft must also take responsibility for cleaning it up. In the future, a number of hydropower plants will have to be upgraded and refurbished. Then it is very important to have routines in place that avoid such environmental destruction, says Haltbrekken. Lars Haltbrekken is a parliamentary representative from SV. Photo: Tale Hauso / news There are 6,500 dammed dams in Norway, and NVE believes that 600 of these are vulnerable to climate change. Many of them must therefore be rehabilitated, and it was in connection with such a project that the sludge discharge in Surnadal occurred. Wants the government The Raudt Party expects that Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) will stand. Statkraft is owned by the Ministry of Business and Industry. – He must ensure that the company takes the environment very seriously and that they rectify and pay for the damage once the mistake has occurred, says environmental policy spokesperson Sofie Marhaug, who is also second deputy leader of the Energy and Environment Committee. Sofie Marhaug is a parliamentary representative from Raudt and other vice-chairs of the Climate and Environment Committee at the Storting. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB She understands well that the river owners want compensation. – Norway has a special responsibility to take care of our national salmon waterways. In 2021, wild salmon ended up on the list of red-listed species. That a wholly owned, state-owned operator such as Statkraft has made such a gross mistake is extremely reprehensible, says Marhaug. – Regrettably, State Secretary Halvard Ingebrigtsen in the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries answers news that as owners they have clear expectations of their companies when it comes to responsibility and taking care of natural diversity and the ecosystem. – This is a regrettable incident. We are concerned that the company learns to the extent that mistakes are made, and has a good dialogue with the authorities and relevant governing authorities, says Ingebrigtsen. He points out that it is the board and management of Statkraft who are responsible for handling this case. Halvard Ingebrigtsen is state secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Measures have been taken Regional director of Statkraft, Kåre Hønsi, replies in an e-mail to news that Statkraft takes nature and the environment seriously, and that they are sorry that they were unable to prevent the sludge discharge. – We of course take our responsibility in the matter seriously. We have taken measures to reduce the damage, brought in external expertise and followed all their professional advice. At the same time, it is important for us that the work to understand the consequences of the sludge discharge is done thoroughly, and that we get a complete overview before we do anything more. He adds that they cannot make agreements on financial compensation until they know more about the consequences of the spill. And write that Statkraft will present a survey of the damage in November.
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Storting politicians react to sludge spills – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
