2. SCOPE
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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 15
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. 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
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All Article, Annex or Regulation references mentioned in this chapter refer to the 1992 HELCOM Convention.
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EU Member Countries should take into account the Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December
2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. Where applicable, the EU Habitat Directive
(92/43/EEC) may require an appropriate assessment and the EU-Landfill (99/31/EC) and Water Framework Directives (2000/60/EC) may
have implications for dredging and deposit operations. Additionally Directive 2008/56/EC Establishing a Framework for Community Action in
the Field of Marine Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) specifies the deposit of dredged material as a possible
pressure with regard to physical loss or damage which needs to be considered when assessing the status of the marine environment.