Environmental knowledge shared with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration

When the Norwegian Public Roads Administration assesses the environmental impact linked to marine disposal of spoil materials, the government agency draws on the expertise and technology offered by NOSCA Clean Oceans.

E39/Vossabanen is set to generate 10-11 million cubic meters of displaced spoil that will have to be disposed of. The main contractors – the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and BaneNOR – are looking at a range of options, such as transport of the excavated material away from the area and disposal in the stretch of fjord alongside the development.

– Through communication with NOSCA Clean Oceans, we have gathered as much information as possible to support our pollution permit application to the County Governor. We consider NOSCA a specialist in monitoring and clean-up technology and on equipment to prevent the spread of ocean plastic and other marine pollution, and are now in the process of establishing the areas in which this expertise may be used, says Project Manager Gunnar Søderholm at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

Coordinating link

The next step is for NOSCA to present a draft preliminary project for the relevant areas. Further disposal solutions will be explored by the Public Roads Administration, but this will be in parallel with an ongoing dialogue with NOSCA.

 

– In addition to NOSCA Clean Oceans contributing at this pollution permit application stage in the development plan, there will be opportunities for its members to deliver services and equipment during the execution phase. There will be a need for barriers and safety systems to prevent the spread of plastic particles and other fine material in the fjord, and there will be a need for clean-up technology. NOSCA offers the advantage of access to a vast pool of expertise. The cluster acts as a coordinating link, says Søderholm, who points out that there are several large projects in the pipeline where displaced excavation material is an issue.

 

In Western Norway alone, there are a number of relevant projects where large amounts of excess spoil will have to be disposed of. Rogfast, Hordfast, Sotrasambandet, the Fløyfjellstunnel extension, Bybanen, Ringvei øst, and the Dokken project in Bergen will all have environmental challenges in need of solutions.

Opens new doors

There are a number of cluster members contributing to the project. One of these, NovuMare, offers consultancy services and sourcing of equipment to prevent acute pollution.

 

– In this project, we act as independent specialist consultants where we assess and recommend solutions for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and BaneNOR to consider, but without any detailed advice on choice of equipment or suppliers. Being in control of potential pollution and particle flow in water columns is key, and we offer vast experience from similar assignments for other contractors, says Odd Gunnar Jørgensen, Managing Director of NovuMare.

 

He emphasises that NOSCA has gained excellent traction in its field. What started as a special-interest organisation for manufacturers and exporters of oil recovery equipment, is today a cluster with a far broader scope that includes environmental pollution and preparedness.

– For NovuMare, this opens doors to new markets and new customers. It may well have an impact on our strategy – it is that important to us. Without the backing of NOSCA, we would not have had the same opportunities to be involved in this project.

Ensures credibility

The collaboration with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is a result of NOSCA’s pilot project at Store Lungegårdsvann in Bergen, where booms and filtering systems are used to recover unwanted elements from the disposal of spoil material from the Bybane development. This is a NOSCA test centre that offers the members an arena in which to test various types of technology under realistic conditions. Activities to date include measuring the effectiveness of these barrier solutions.

 

– One of the advantages of being part of an innovation cluster with broad and multifaceted expertise, is that there is no need for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to engage with a large number of independent players in order to obtain the information required. With us on the team, they get an overall picture of the situation – from detection to clean-up and disposal. We ensure credibility in the execution of projects, and we see to that the partial solutions come together as a complete system, says Eirik Langeland, Cluster Manager at NOSCA Clean Oceans.

NOSCA Clean Oceans comprises over 40 enterprises offering cutting-edge expertise in their segments of the value chain linked to marine pollution (detection, classification, clean-up and disposal). It is a cluster made up of research institutions and professional companies combining vast experience from oil spill response with cutting-edge technology and broad knowledge of other aspects of marine pollution. The result is an excellent basis for innovative and comprehensive solutions for challenges we have to deal with in order to ensure cleaner oceans.

 

The following members are involved in the dialogue between the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and BaneNOR:

 

   ◦ Clean Sea Solutions AS  (cleanseasolutions.no)

   ◦ Clear Ocean AS (clearocean.no)

   ◦ Egersund Markleen AS (markleen.com)

   ◦ Fiizk AS (fiizk.com)

   ◦ Maritime Robotics AS (maritimerobotics.com)

   ◦ NIVA (niva.no)

   ◦ NOFI AS (nofi.no)

   ◦ NorLense AS (norlense.no)

   ◦ NovuMare AS (novumare.no)

   ◦ SpillTech AS (spilltech.no)