HELCOM deletes two Lithuanian Hot Spots from the Baltic Sea major polluters list

Helsinki, 15 June (HELCOM) – The Helsinki Commission today officially deleted two Lithuanian Hot Spots from the list of the Baltic Sea most significant pollution sources. The decision was unanimously approved by the Heads of Delegations of the HELCOM Member States at their regular 17^th Meeting, which took place on 14-15 June in Helsinki, Finland. 

Among the deleted Hot Spots are Lithuania’s biggest city and capital Vilnius, and the municipality of Alytus. The cities have carried out vast modernisations of their wastewater treatment plants in recent years.

“We very much welcome Lithuania’s progress in the reduction of pollution from point sources such as municipal wastewater treatment plants,” said HELCOM Executive Secretary, Ms Anne Christine Brusendorff. “Today, the wastewater treatment efficiency in a big city like Vilnius with a population of over half a million, meets requirements of the relevant HELCOM Recommendations, and is also in compliance with the EU requirements.” 

The recommendation to delete these Hot Spots from the list of the Baltic Sea major polluters was submitted by the HELCOM Land-based Pollution Group (HELCOM LAND) after considering Lithuania’s application during a regular meeting in May. HELCOM experts in general also welcomed the reduction of pollution loads from the wastewater treatment plants in Lithuania’s third largest city of Klaipeda, but could not yet support the deletion of this Hot Spot, since the HELCOM requirement for phosphorus has been exceeded in the wastewater. HELCOM LAND also noted the good progress in reduction of pollution from the city of Marijampole. The final decision to delete this Hot Spot from the list could be made before autumn.

A list of the most significant pollution source Hot Spots around the Baltic Sea was first drawn up under the Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme (JCP) in 1992. Today, with the deletion of the two Lithuanian municipalities, 87 Hot Spots and sub-Hot Spots remain on the list, following the deletion of 62 of the original 149 Hot Spots/sub-Hot Spots. Investment and remediation projects carried out at pollution Hot Spots around the Baltic Sea have contributed substantially towards overall pollution load reductions in the Baltic Sea catchment area.

Note to Editors:

The Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental co-operation between the countries bordering the sea - Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.  HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

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