Out with the waste water: the Minister is talking around it

Minister for the environment Lea Wermelin lifted both eyebrows when she in the weekend read, the of 290,000 cubic metres of piss and shit should be flushed out in the Sound from the Monday and five days ahead.

It was something dung, said the minister.

- I am wondering very much about the case and share the concerns in relation to the marine environment and bathing water quality, she said to Ritzau, and called at the same time, the city of Copenhagen to stop the discharge.

See also: Copenhagen's Municipality to postpone the discharge of waste water in the Sound

Lea Wermelins own agency, the environmental protection Agency, were however been informed that the city of Copenhagen have given permission for the discharge 13. may - more than ten days before discharge should take place.

Earlier Monday was the derivation deferred to October where it is expected to have fewer consequences for biodiversity and algae blooms.

nonetheless, says Lea Wermelin to Ekstra Bladet, that it's going tremendously behind her, to the environmental protection Agency had long since got the message about emissions.

She will not, however, answer whether the agency committed a mistake by failing to pass on the message.

- well-Known you to the case in advance?

- No, I hear first about the case, when it begins to run in the media, but I think we all would like to be known for something before.

Community - 25. may. 2020 - pm. 15:33 Alternative to the crap in the Sound: - Unrealistic

And it came up behind me, to the environmental protection Agency was informed, but as the rules are today, neither they or I intervene.

- Committed agency error by failing to inform you about the permit?

- I think we all would have known something about the matter sooner, because it ended up that there was going to be traded five minutes of 12, but it is a municipal decision, where I do not have the opportunity to intervene, and have the environmental protection Agency does not, she says.

- You would like to have known of the matter earlier. Has the environmental protection Agency slept in an hour?

- You would like to make it to the environmental protection Agency's problem, and as I say clearly, I think, we all would have known it before, because there had to be traded five minutes of 12, but it is a municipal decision, as I can not intervene, and it can environmental protection Agency also not.

- If you can't intervene, why will you possibly be informed?

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- This is what I say - I think all that we would like to have known something about this case before.

- So it is not a question about that it is about me specifically, but it is about the here case come back of the the vast majority, as hear about it in the media, but it is a decision taken in Copenhagen, says Lea Wermelin.

Understand the minister

Henrik Hagen Olesen, who is head of department at the environmental protection Agency, says that the board now must evaluate whether this kind of permissions in the future systematically should be sent on to the minister's desk.

- I can well understand if the minister has said that it comes behind her, and it is something we can take up internally in relation to the briefings we receive, he says.

- Have you got a røffel?

- No.

According to the head of unit uses the environmental protection Agency the kind of orientations, when they keep statistics of how much waste water emitted per year.