The activities regulations § 68a

§ 68a Subsea rock installation

Subsea rock installation which is necessary to carry out offshore petroleum activities may take place without a special permit if:
  1. the activity is carried out in an area where there is no risk that vulnerable environmental values are negatively impacted,
  2. the activity does not disturb contaminated sediments,
  3. clean rock masses are used.
All rock installation shall be carried out in such a way as to minimize impact on surrounding areas.
The operator shall document type and quantity of rocks used and how the operation was carried out, cf. the Framework Regulations, Section 23.
Section last changed: 01 January 2025

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.
Subsea rock installation that does not satisfy the requirements of this section must be covered by a permit under the Pollution Control Act (in Norwegian only). In case of doubt, the Norwegian Environment Agency decides whether a permit is required.
In this context, vulnerable environmental values are particularly habitat types on the Norwegian Red List for habitat types, such as coral reefs and coral forests, sponge and sea poultry communities on OSPAR's list of threatened and/or declining habitats, as well as bottom-dwelling fish such as sand eels.
The operator must be able to document the assessments made to comply with the requirements in first subsection litera a, b and c. The documentation shall be available to the Norwegian Environment Agency upon request, cf. the Framework Regulations Section 23 last subsection.