The Fjord Lawsuit
Friends of the Earth Norway and Young Friends of the Earth Norway are suing the the Norwegian government over the granting of a permit for the dumping of mining waste into Førdefjorden.
Friends of the Earth Norway (Naturvernforbundet) and Young Friends of the Earth Norway (Natur og Ungdom) believes that the Ministry of Climate and Environment’s permission to dump up to 170 million tons of mining waste into Førdefjorden is a clear violation of the EU Water Framework Directive. The directive states that it is prohibited to pollute a water resource.
The case was heard by the Oslo District Court in September and October 2023. Unfortunately, the environmental organizations did not succeed in the Oslo District Court, but the organizations appealed the case to the Court of Appeal in February 2024.
In the fall of 2024, the case was heard by the EFTA Court in Luxembourg. March 5, 2025, the court issued its ruling – it states that economic considerations are not a good enough reason to allow pollution of a fjord like Førdefjorden. The opinion from the EFTA Court will be important when the case comes to the Court of Appeal in June 2025.
The mining company Nordic Mining announced in December 2024 that they have started their trial production.
This is the case:
- Friends of the Earth Norway and Young Friends of the Earth Norway are suing the the Norwegian government over the granting of a permit for the dumping of 170 million tons of mining waste into Førdefjorden.
- The Lawsuit was heard in the Oslo district Court from September 18 to October 4, 2023.
- On January 10, 2024, Oslo District Court published their decision in the Fjord Lawsuit. The Norwegian state won through – the permits for dumping 170 million tons of waste into the pristine Førdefjorden are valid.
- Friends of the Earth/Young Friends of the Earth Norway was sentenced to cover most of the state’s expenses – 1,4 million NOK (€125.000) – in violation of the Aarhus Convention.
- The organizations appealed the case to the court of Appeal in February 2024. The hearing in the Court of Appeal is scheduled for June 10-12, 2025.
- In the autumn of 2024, the case was heard in the EFTA Court in Luxembourg. March 5, 2025, the court ruled in favour of the environmental organisations.
- The mining company Nordic Mining will extract rutile and garnet from an open pit mine in Engebøfjellet. Rutile is used to produce titanium dioxide.
- The mine waste will contain large amounts of finely ground rock, pollutants, microplastics and chemicals.
- The dumping of mining waste will kill all life in the landfill area and could have a severe impact on life in the fjord.
- Førdefjorden is a healthy fjord with a great diversity of species.
- Four salmon-bearing rivers flow into the fjord. In addition, Førdefjorden is a national salmon fjord, and should therefore have special protection.
- Norway is one of very few countries in the world that still allows dumping of mining waste in the sea. There are only two countries worldwide that allow new projects with dumping of mining waste in the sea, Norway and Papua New Guinea.
Key reasons why Naturvernforbundet and Natur og Ungdom are suing the state:
- The mining company has received all important permits; there are no more administrative appeal options.
- The mining company has not sufficiently investigated how the project can be designed in a way that provides maximum waste minimization and avoids the need for submarine tailings disposal.
- The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority has identified several shortcomings in the Norwegian transposition of the EU Mining Waste Directive and the EU Water Framework Directive.
- There are several indications that the submarine tailings disposal is unnecessary and thus illegal according to the Norwegian Pollution Act.
- Sufficient legal protection for nature depends on the courts hearing cases on questionable administrative decisions that have an impact on the environment.