HELCOM Guidelines for Management of Dredged Material at Sea and HELCOM Reporting Format for Management of Dredged Material at Sea . Adopted by HELCOM 36-2015 on 4 March 2015 and amended by HELCOM 41-2020 on 4 March 2020.

Abstract

Scope: 2.1 The guidelines are designed to assist Contracting Parties in the management of dredged material in ways that will prevent and eliminate pollution in accordance with Article 3 to the 1992 Helsinki Convention, and protect marine species and habitats in the Baltic Sea Area in accordance with Article 152. Dredged materials have been listed in Regulation 1 of Annex V as being permitted to be dumped at sea, as an exception from the general prohibition from dumping in Article 11 (1) of the Convention. 2.2 Any deposit into the maritime area of dredged materials, independently of whether it is considered as “dumping” or “placement” within the Helsinki Convention (cf. Article 4(a) and Article 2(b)(ii) respectively), should be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to ensure that it complies with the objectives of the Convention, as outlined in these Guidelines. 2.3 For the Contracting Parties that are also EU Member States, the Guidelines are conceived as a tool assisting them in the management of dredged material that is subject to current European Directives (e.g. Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC, Natura2000 areas under the Birds and Habitat Directives 2009/147/EC and 92/43/EEC). Also, the Directive 2008/98/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste, (hereinafter the Waste Framework Directive), has been identified by Contracting Parties as having implications on the management of dredged material. Which implications those are exactly, and how this affects national legislation, remains in many cases unclear. Clarifications regarding the relationship between the existing national interpretations in the application of the Waste Framework Directive to dredged material and the dredged material management guidelines shared in HELCOM Area are provided in the technical background document (cf. 14 REFERENCES). 2.4 The guidelines in particular address the management of dredged material in the maritime area, subsequent to any dredging technique including hydrodynamic and sidecast dredging. In addition to preventing and eliminating adverse effects the guidelines, where appropriate, seek to maintain or enhance the existing environmental conditions and to create new opportunities. 2.5 The guidelines are primarily a scientific and technical framework for assessing dredged material proposed for deposit at sea. While economic considerations are acknowledged, they are not dealt with in detail in these guidelines. This implicates that the detailed procedures described in the guidelines will not be applicable in all national or local circumstances. 2.6 In the context of these guidelines, dredged materials are deemed to be sediments or rocks with associated water, organic matter etc. removed from areas that are normally or regularly covered by water, using dredging or other excavation equipment. 2.7 It is recognised that both removal and deposit of dredged sediments may cause harm to the marine environment. Contracting Parties are encouraged to exercise control over both dredging and dredged material management using a Best Environmental Practice (BEP) approach designed to minimise both the quantity of material that has to be dredged and the impact of the dredging and depositing activities in the maritime area - see Technical Annex III. Contracting Parties are encouraged to develop regional dredged material management plans in order to minimize the possible impacts and maximizing possible benefits from dredging and depositing. Advice on environmentally acceptable dredging techniques is available from a number of international organisations e.g. the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC), the European and Central Dredging Association (EuDA and CEDA). 2.8 The schematic shown in Figure 1 presents the steps involved in the application of these Guidelines where important decisions should be made. In general, national authorities should use this schematic in an iterative manner (revisiting steps in the processes as needed) ensuring that all steps receive consideration, including consideration of BAT and BEP, before a decision is made to issue or decline a permit. The following sections of this document describe the steps and activities relevant to the Guidelines.