Environmental protection regulations and deviations from them

The objective of environmental protection regulations is to prevent environmental pollution, taking into account local conditions, and to eliminate and reduce the harm caused by pollution. The regulations are based on the Environmental Protection Act (527/2014).

Compliance with the regulations is monitored by the municipal environmental protection authority, which is the Environmental and Building Board in the City of Kuopio. Environmental protection regulations are valid throughout the city, unless otherwise provided in these regulations.

Environmental protection regulations concern, among other things, water protection and wastewater treatment, noise-causing activities, flue gas emissions, dust control, chemical treatment and storage, and waste treatment.

The current regulations entered into force on 1 January 2018. On 3 November 2022, the Environmental and Building Board decided to launch a review of the environmental protection regulations in Kuopio. The aim is that the Environmental and Building Board could approve the revised environmental protection regulations so that they could enter into force on 1 July 2023.

For a special reason, the municipal environmental protection authority may, on application, grant a permit to deviate from these regulations in individual cases. The deviation shall not result in the exclusion of the objectives of these provisions. Deviations from environmental protection regulations are subject to a fee according to the environmental protection authority’s rate. The deviation notification must be submitted via the Lupapiste.fi service. 

According to the environmental protection regulations of the City of Kuopio, the owner or holder of the tank must dismantle and remove the decommissioned oil and chemical tank from the soil at that time when its use ends. The tanks must be emptied, cleaned and, if necessary, inspected before removal. The person carrying out the cleaning and inspection must be approved by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency for the inspection of chemical containers. The cleaning certificate must be presented to the environmental protection authority upon request. The filling and air pipes of the tanks must be removed and plugged. The environmental protection authority must be notified immediately of any discovered tank leakage

In individual cases, the environmental protection authority may grant an exemption from the obligation to remove a decommissioned tank if the removal is technically very difficult or may cause unreasonable damage to other property.

An application for deviation must be submitted electronically via the Lupapiste.fi service or using the attached form Deviation from environmental protection regulations_oil tank (pdf) The application must be accompanied by an inspection report on emptying and cleaning the container and a power of attorney from other property owners.

The processing of the notification under the Environmental Protection Act is subject to a fee approved by the City of Kuopio’s Environmental and Building Board.

The inspectors assessed as qualified by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) can be found on the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency’s website at rekisterit.tukes.fi/toiminnanharjoittajat