HELCOM: Projects in Belarus finally off the ground
Belarus’s wastewater treatment infrastructure has been working at its breaking point for years. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission—HELCOM has identified several hot pots located in Belarus and endangering the environment of the Baltic Sea.
In December 2012, NIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed loan agreements with the country’s authorities for the reconstruction of wastewater treatment plants in Belarusian cities located on the rivers feeding their waters into the sea.
The NIB loan, totalling EUR 25 million, is earmarked for the treatment facilities in Grodno and Brest. The projects have also received grant funds from the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) and the governments of Finland and Sweden.
NIB Newsletter has asked Mikhail Durkin, HELCOM Professional Secretary, to explain the significance of the expected improvements for the Baltic Sea region.
What is a hot spot in HELCOM terminology? Why have Grodno and Brest been included in HELCOM’s list of hot spots?
“Hot spots are major point sources of pollution both on the Baltic coast and within the sea catchment area. Originally, our list included 162 hot spots in twelve countries with 56 of those left unresolved by now. Typical hot spots discharge high amounts of phosphorus, nitrogen, organic matter and other harmful contaminants. It can be a wastewater treatment plant that discharges nutrients and chlorinated compounds, for instance, not efficiently treated industrial loading. Hot spots can also be leaking oil and other hazardous substances into coastal waters, affecting marine life and the use of marine resources for human consumption.
The cross-border nutrient loads from Belarus via the rivers Daugava, Neman and Vistula are very important for reducing the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. The cities of Brest and Grodno were included in the list of HELCOM hot spots in 1992.
Grodno is located on the River Neman flowing directly into the Baltic Sea. The wastewater load in Grodno exceeded the capacity of the treatment plant by at least 20%. The aim was to build a new plant by 2010.
Brest discharges into the River Bug and from there to the Vistula, which runs into the sea. The Brest treatment plant is completely run down and badly needs reconstruction. Treatment efficiency, including nutrient removal, is poor and needs to be improved significantly in order to prevent pollution of the river. Sewage sludge is another major and urgent problem. Excessive amounts of sludge remain in storage, because there is no place for it, while the dams may break during heavy rain causing a serious risk of a pollution disaster. Earlier attempts to solve these problems weren’t successful due to the lack of financing.
Belarus is not a full member of HELCOM and, therefore, not obligated to follow HELCOM requirements and report regularly on the implementation of pollution reduction measures. HELCOM is, however, determined to help Belarus eliminate major pollution sites within the Baltic Sea catchment area.”
What is their share in emissions into the Baltic Sea waters? How will the future improvements in Grodno and Brest help get closer to the targets of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan?
“The annual nutrient loads from Brest and Grodno wastewater treatment plants are about 2,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 350 tonnes of phosphorus. According to the HELCOM recommendations as part of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), wastewater treatment should remove at least 80% of biological oxygen demand, 90% of phosphorus, and 70–80% of nitrogen. This can be achieved by modernising the current wastewater treatment capacity and implementing advanced nutrient removal, which is the objective of the NIB-co-financed projects. When this is the reality, Belarus will have removed about half of its annual target, as set in HELCOM BSAP, for nitrogen and one fifth for phosphorus. At HELCOM, we are very pleased to see the projects of high urgency for the Baltic Sea environment finally get off the ground owing to the financing from NIB and the EBRD and the commitment from the Belarusian government.”
What other environmental hot spot does HELCOM monitor in Belarus?
“There is only one more hot spot in Belarus—the municipality of Vitebsk on the River Daugava with similar problems as in Brest and Grodno. The Vitebsk wastewater treatment plant’s capacity is well below the demand. A similar reconstruction project has now been started with financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection of Belarus has produced a list of priority point sources of pollution in wastewater treatment and agriculture located in the Belarusian part of the Baltic Sea drainage area. HELCOM suggests the list be utilised by the relevant Baltic stakeholders, including the IFIs, in helping to reduce the pollution load from Belarus.”
What are the other most challenging issues from HELCOM’s point of view that need to be addressed in the near future?
“Challenges remain in all the segments of the Baltic Sea Action Plan and many of those need to be addressed urgently, especially those dealing with eutrophication. Action needs to be taken no later than 2016 to reduce the nutrient load if we aim to reach the BSAP environmental targets by 2021, as agreed between the HELCOM contracting parties.
Besides municipal discharges, agricultural runoff is yet another main source of nutrient inputs. We need many more joint initiatives countries and stakeholders undertake to work together to reduce nutrient input and control the spread of hazardous substances. Reducing the impact from industrial fishery operations also remains a priority. We also need to continue research work into biodiversity conservation for better management of the marine environment.
Progress in implementing the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and what still needs to be done for a healthy Baltic Sea will be the focus of the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in October 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark.”