The expert commission for state environmental expert review (SEER) under the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Use (Rosprirodnadzor) issued a positive conclusion on the project documentation for the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline in Russia. The expert commission concluded that implementation of the project in Russia is feasible and compliant with Russian environmental requirements.

Nord Stream 2 AG, the developer of a pipeline to supply Russian natural gas to the EU market through the Baltic Sea, submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and project documentation to Rosprirodnadzor in November 2017 for state environmental expert review (more details here).

The project documentation comprises 138 volumes, including the EIA and a comprehensive program of mitigation and compensation measures (more details here: Facts and Figures: Environmental Impact Assessment in Russia). The materials are based on comprehensive environmental surveys along the proposed pipeline route for a period of over five years. These surveys are the most detailed and complete ever conducted in this area. Given the environmental sensitivity of the shore-crossing area, the company developed an innovative construction method that relies on trench boxes to reduce the construction corridor width and related impacts by some 50 percent. The final EIA report was prepared with due consideration of the feedback received as a result of a broad public discussion.

Upon its analysis of the Nord Stream 2 project documentation, the state environmental expert review commission concluded that both the envisaged technical solutions and mitigation and compensation measures will ensure compliance with the Russian rules and regulations. In addition, the conclusion confirmed a range of mitigation and compensation measures to ensure environmentally sustainable project implementation, along with monitoring, construction schedule adjustment and other aspects.

Gregory Vilchek, Head of the Russia EIA and Permitting Group at Nord Stream 2 AG, commented: “We are pleased to have received a positive environmental conclusion on the five years of thorough work carried out by the Nord Stream 2 team, together with scientists and engineers, to identify the optimal way to implement the project in Russia. We are grateful to our dialogue partners – experts, environmental community representatives and the public – for their active involvement in discussion. Thanks to their comments, we were able to deliver quality project documentation.”

The positive SEER conclusion is a pre-condition for submitting permit applications in Russia.

About Nord Stream 2

Nord Stream 2 is a planned pipeline through the Baltic Sea, which will transport natural gas over 1,200 km from the world’s largest gas reserves in Russia via the most efficient route to consumers in Europe.
Nord Stream 2 will largely follow the route and design of the successful Nord Stream Pipeline. With Europe’s domestic gas production projected to halve in the next 20 years, Nord Stream 2’s twin pipeline system will help Europe to meet its future gas import needs, with the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, enough to supply 26 million European households.
This secure supply of natural gas with its low CO2 emissions will also contribute to Europe’s objective to have a more climate-friendly energy mix with gas substituting for coal in power generation and providing back-up for intermittent renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.