The activities regulations § 63

§ 63 Categorisation of substances and chemicals

The operator shall categorise substances and chemicals that are subject to requirements to documentation in accordance with Section 62, fifth subsection. The requirement does not apply to impurities in chemicals.
The black category comprises the following:
  1. substances on the Priority List,
  2. substances on OSPAR’s Priority List,
  3. substances that are listed on the candidate list in REACH due to their environmental properties,
  4. substances that both have BOD28 less than 20 percent and bioaccumulation potential Log Pow higher than or equal to 4,5, cf. Section 62,
  5. substances that both have BOD28 less than 20 percent, toxicity LC50 or EC50 less than or equal to 10 mg/l, cf. Section 62,
  6. substances which are mutagenic, Muta 1A and 1B, or reprotoxic, Repr 1A and 1B.
  7. Additive packages that is exempted the requirement in Section 62 sixth subsection, and is not tested.
The red category comprises substances not included in the black category, but fulfilling one or several of the following criteria:
  1. inorganic substances with acute toxicity, EC50 or LC50 less than or equal to 1 mg/l, cf. Section 62,
  2. organic substances with BOD28 less than 20 percent, cf. Section 62,
  3. organic substances that meet two out of three of the following criteria, cf. Section 62:
    1. BOD28 less than 60 percent
    2. Log Pow greater than or equal to 3, and molecular weight less than 700
    3. Acute toxicity, LC50 or EC50, less than or equal to 10 mg/l,
  4. polymers which have not undergone ecotoxicological tests, cf. Section 62.
The yellow category comprises substances that are not included in the black, red or green category. Strong acids and bases and tax-exempt diesel with added colour additives, which are exempted from the requirement for ecotoxicological testing, cf. Section 62 seventh subsection, are comprised by the yellow category. Substances in yellow category with BOD28 greater than or equal to 20 percent and less than 60 percent, cf. Section 62, shall be assessed and categorised in the following subcategories:
  1. subcategory 1 if the substance is expected to be fully biodegraded or biodegradable into degradation products that would fall in yellow category, cf. first sentence, or green category, cf. fifth subsection, if they were subject to categorization requirements,
  2. subcategory 2 if the substance is expected to biodegrade into degradation products that would fall in red category if they were subject to categorization requirements, cf. third subsection,
  3. subcategory 3 if the substance is expected to biodegrade into degradation products that would fall in black category if they were subject to categorization requirements, cf. second subsection.
The assessment and the subcategorization as mentioned in the third sentence shall be documented in writing.
The green category comprises:
  1. substances on OSPAR’s PLONOR-list,
  2. substances on the list in REACH Annex IV,
  3. some/individual substances included in REACH Annex V.
Chemicals shall be categorised according to their substance content in the following way:
  1. Black category if the chemical contains substances in the black category, cf. second subsection,
  2. Red category if the chemical contains substances in the red category, cf. third subsection, but not in the black category,
  3. Yellow category if the chemical contains substances in the yellow category, cf. fourth subsection, but not the black or red category. If relevant, they shall further be categorized in subcategories, cf. fourth subsection litera a to c:
    1. Subcategory 1, if the chemical only contains substances in subcategory 1,
    2. Subcategory 2, if the chemical contains substances in subcategory 2, but not subcategory 3,
    3. Subcategory 3, if the chemical contains substances in subcategory 3,
  4. Green category of the chemical only contains substances in green category, cf. fifth subsection.
Section last changed: 01 January 2023

The operator must obtain a permit from the Norwegian Environmental Agency for petroleum activities under Chapter 3 of the Pollution Control Act (in Norwegian only). Application for permit under the Pollution Control Act is subject to Chapter 36 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only), and a fee is fixed for the Environmental Agency’s processing relating to applications for permits pursuant to Chapter 39 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only).
The regulations’ general requirements for the petroleum activities on the continental shelf apply to all operators. The permits under the Pollution Control Act will normally contain conditions that are specific and adapted to each activity. Chapter 36 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only) gives further provisions on the processing of permits under the Pollution Control Act. The Norwegian Environment Agency has described further expectations for the content of applications and expected processing time in the Guidelines for applications regarding offshore petroleum activities: https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/ansvarsomrader/forurensning/petroleum/for-naringsliv/soknadsveileder-petroleum/. Chapter 39 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only) gives provisions for fees for work with permits.
A chemical is a generic term for chemical substances and/or mixtures of substances.
“Substance” refers to, as in OSPAR Guidelines for Completing the HOCNF; the chemical element and its chemical compound in the natural state or obtained by any production process, including any additive necessary to preserve the stability of the product, and any impurity deriving from the process used. Solvents which may be separated without affecting the stability of the substance or changing its composition, are excluded. Substances were previously called component.
The priority list can be found in www.miljostatus.no/prioritetslisten.
“OSPAR’s Priority List” refers to OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action (Revised 2011) (Reference number 2004-12).
Substances covered by REACH’s list of candidates can be found in https://www.echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table.
The exception from classification for mixtures in black category is sustained for substances where the content of substance is below the lowest concentration limit for classification, cf. the Regulations on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) (in Norwegian only).
Mutagenic and reprotoxic substances denote substances that damage genetic material in gametes (Muta) category 1A and 1B and reprotoxic substances (Repr) 1A and 1B, cf. the Regulations on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) (in Norwegian only).
When assessing the properties of degradation products for substances with moderate degradation, results from testing of inherent biodegradability, among other things, may be used together with other available information on substances. The assessment should be documented. In the industry, the terms y1, y2 and y3 and respective yellow subcategories 1, 2 and 3 are often used.
The strong acids and bases which are exempt from requirements for ecotoxicological testing, cf. Section 62 eighth subsection, are treated as substances in yellow category.“OSPAR’s PLONOR list”, as mentioned in the second subsection, refers to OSPAR List of Substances Used and Discharged Offshore which Are Considered to Pose Little or No Risk to the Environment (PLONOR) (OSPAR Agreement 2013-06).
REACH Annex V includes substances that are exempted registration in REACH. Entry 8 and 9 in Annex V include naturally occurring substances. Some of these are classified as non-hazardous and can be equated with substances on the PLONOR list. Substances in Entry 7 can be treated likewise if it can be demonstrated that they are not hazardous, in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC with regard to the marine environment, and not OBT or vPvN as given in the criteria in REACH Annex XIII, or identifies in accordance to Article 59 (1) or Article 57 (f). If questions whether a substance which is covered in REACH Annex V is in green category, the Norwegian Environment Agency shall be contacted for an assessment.