221. The Environment Protection Act (1969) is a comprehensive legislation against water pollution. air pollution,
noise and other nuisances form real property. The major principle is to prevent disturbances as far as is technically and practically possible and in any
case not to tolerate unnecessary disturbances. Technical progress should thus be continuously reviewed to
enhance environment protection. Of importance also is that alternative proposals as to the choice of location
of an industrial enterprise could be requested.
222. The Act prescribes that certain types of factories i.e.
pulp and paper mills, and other establishments may not be constructed or altered until special permission has been obtained and the required specifications for
the prevention of pollution have been laid down. The Act also applies to factories already in existence when the Act came into force. In order to speed up the rate of investment in anti-pollution measures in these older industries, government subsidies can be
granted under special circumstances during a transitional period of five years ending 1 July 1974. The subsidies amount in principle to 25 % of the investment costs.
Such investments also involve certain tax reliefs.
223. The Franchise Board for the Protection of Environment, an authority similar in constitution to a court of law, is responsible for granting permits related to the
Environment Protection Act. Its decisions can be
appealed to the Government. Decisions for the implemen- tation of the Act can also be taken by the Environment Protection Board, a specialised governmental agency under the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency's
decisions lack formal legal validity - as opposed to a
permit - and may be withdrawn if it should prove necessary. For reasons of expedient examination approximately two thirds of all applications are made to the agency.
224. The regulations concerning water pollution contain no specific standards either for effluents or for the receiving water. Each case is examined separately
according to the type of production, the characteristics of the receiving medium, etc. However, in granting
operating permits, the authorities rely upon certain verified values which are shown in Table 3-8 below.
These values are not the maximum that can be achieved with present techniques; and should not be considered as discharge standards for effluents. On the contrary, these figures can be lowered when the situation demands by using a combination of the best production techniques and proven treatment methods.
225. As regards air pollution, Swedish regulations give the following guidelines for the amount of sulphur dioxide in the air::
- • . . .
Swedish regulations also include guidelines for emission standards applicable specifically to the pulp and paper industry (see Table 3-9). Furthermore the sulphur
content of liquid fuels is restricted to 2.5 per cent by weight for the country as a whole, and to 1 per cent by weight for Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo.
The guidelines given above as well as in
Table 3-9 are subject to review every four or five
years in the light of experience and technical progress.
TABLE5-8 Summaryofspecificlossesfromdifferentproductionprocesses (inkg/tonneofpulp) (assuming thatmodernprocessingtechniques areused) (Sweden) *Including external measures.
TABLE3-9 Guidelinesforemissionstandards(l) applicable tothepulpandpaperindustry (Sweden) Notes (1) The standardsrefer to themonthlyarithmeticmeanoftotalemissionsduringthe period of operation. They applytoalloperatingconditionsandmustberespected throughout the life of theplant.Theseguidelinesaretoberevisedin1973. (2) The emission standardsforodoroussubstancesfromtherecoveryfurnacehavenotyet beenadopted. Further testingisinhand, (3) Method of measurement developedattheKarolinskaInstitute,Stockolm,
3.1.13 SWITZERLAND
226. The principle underlying Swiss legislation on water pollution is the protection of the natural environment with a"view to preserving as many as possible of its initial qualities. The legislation relates to" all
surface and ground waters, whether natural or artificial, public or private. The objective is to attain, as regards the receiving water, at least the second of the four internationally recognised categories of water quality ("mesosaprobic Beta"). No waste water may be discharged until a permit is obtained specifying the conditions of discharge,
227. The Federal Act on the protection of waters against
pollution was passed in October, 1971 and came into force on 1st July, 1972. Technical Directives for the implement- ation of the legislation, relating mainly to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of discharged water are to be issued separately. They will gradually
supersede the former "directives relating to the discharge of waste waters" which were issued in 1966 under a
previous federal enactment and are to remain in force until they are expressly repealed.
228. The current Directives cover 44 items which mainly concern BOD, KMn04 consumption, suspended solids, putrescibility, pH and the main metals and non-metal combinations. In almost all cases the Directives specify the maximum concentration in the effluent rather than fixed quantitative limits. It is also stipulated that when waste water is diluted 0 to 5 times, depending on the ability of the receiving water to bring about dilution, it must have no adverse effects on fish. Certain standards apply specifically to the pulp and paper industry in
derogation of the general requirements. They are shown in the following table (Table 3-10).
TABLE 3-10
Standards applicable to effluents from the pulp and paper industry
(In derogation of the general requirements) (Switzerland)
- 71 -
229. Federal legislation on air pollution is under consider- ation. The underlying principle will be to protect man and his natural environment against harmful and offensive pollution. Pending this federal legislation the "cantons"
may take steps against existing nuisances, or at least limit risks, under general by-laws.