Co-organising – what is it?
Investigating and remediating a contaminated area can be organised. This is a secondary form of government support.
Co-organising:
- The government, i.e. the Finnish Supervisory Agency, acts as the client organisation and implements the project.
- The costs are shared with the partner, i.e. the project is co-organised.
Organising is discretionary and can only be undertaken within the limits of the appropriations allocated by the Ministry of the Environment.
The requirements for organising a project are the same as for awarding government grants as the costs are shared. In addition, it is required that investigation or remediation of a contaminated site is necessary from a general environmental and health benefit standpoint.
Only in exceptional cases can the government, i.e. the Finnish Supervisory Agency, assume full responsibility for implementation and costs.
How are costs shared in organising?
As a rule, the applicant, municipality, property owner or holder contributes to the costs of investigating contamination of an area and organising the remediation.
Costs are shared in an appropriate proportion, taking into account:
- the severity or
- likelihood of a hazard
- or harm to health
- or the environment
- the urgency of a given project
- other public funds granted to a project and other comparable circumstances.
The same principles and percentages are applied in the sharing of costs as when determining the amount of the grant. Further provisions on the sharing of costs are laid down in a Government decree: The maximum share borne by the Finnish Supervisory Agency is 50% of the costs of the investigation and 40% of the remediation costs.