In order to enable the foreign reader to become familiar with conditions in Denmark, I begin with three chapters in which the latter are described.
Chapter 2 describes Denmark and its environmental problems. I provide information about the population, area, polluters, environmental condition and environmental problems, and hence part of the background material necessary to understand the way Denmark prioritizes its environmental activities.
Chapter 3 introduces the EC (also called the EU). For the benefit of readers outside the EC I provide some basic information on the EC. The chapter then goes on to explain the relationship between the EC and the individual Member States (in this case Denmark) on the environmental front. Finally, the chapter explains Denmark’s relationship to international cooperation at convention level, and Denmark’s support to other states on the environmental front.
Chapter 4 describes Danish decision-making processes on the environmental front. Some of the elements may not be so common in other countries: There is marked decentralization to the Counties and Municipalities, only approx. 20% of the administrative personnel being located in national authorities; there is freedom of information in administrative cases, including environmental cases, and the authorities are required to hear the point of view of enterprises before environmental requirements are imposed upon them; neighbours have the right of complaint; and finally, Denmark is a society of organizations, a characteristic which also leaves its mark on the environmental front.
Thereafter, Chapters 5-10 give an account of requirements imposed on polluters, and which are aimed at ameliorating and preventing pollution.
My approach has been to subdivide according to sources of pollution, the rationale being that environmental requirements are directed at the sources. Chapter 5 deals with industry proper, while Chapter 6 deals with special facilities and aspects such as gene technology, clean fuels, power stations, sewage treatment plants, incineration plants, landfills, airports, windmills, transport, the marine environment, etc. Chapter 7 deals with the requirements imposed on agriculture and Chapter 8 with the requirements imposed on consumers.
Hazardous chemicals also in an international context is a clearly defined area and therefore warrants a chapter of its own Chapter 9. The requirements are imposed on manufacturers, importers and users of hazardous chemicals.
Contaminated land is a topic that has not yet been dealt with by the EC. In Denmark, we have been working with the problem for more than 10 years. According to the latest estimates remediation of contaminated sites will cost at least DKK 25,000 million. It was originally thought that it would be possible to make the polluters clean up after themselves, but it is becoming increasingly clear that society as a whole must deal with the problem. Chapter 10 gives an account of Danish experience in this area.
Chapter 11 deals with requirements and strategies for the various environmental media, thereby differing from the sector approach of Chapters 5-10.
Chapter 12 is a digression from legislative regulation to economic regulation, albeit that all levy systems are based on rules of law. However, money is what really regulates the behaviour of polluters. I believe that the reader will be interested to know what environmental levy systems we operate with in Denmark, as well as what impact they have.
I have not written a separate chapter on agreements, even though they are also employed in Danish environmental administration. However, I have discussed them in association with the aspects of the environment to which they relate, and have given an account of their legal status in Chapter 4.
Chapter 13 deals with enforcement, which is absolutely imperative if one wants to use rules to change the behaviour of polluters. A rule is just words on a piece of paper. This applies no matter whether it is adopted by the EC or the Danish Parliament. If it is to have the intended effect, someone has to act. This could be enterprises, who have to comply with the rule, or authorities, who have to inform the enterprises of a specific ruling. An effective inspection system and a reasonably good degree of acceptance by the enterprises are necessary if environmental legislation is to be translated into reality. Chapter 13 describes the Danish inspection system and its working methods.
To a greater or lesser extent there are enterprises who breach the regulations. The inspectors therefore have to be able to assert themselves by summoning the assistance of the judicial system. Chapter 13 also describes how Danish environmental authorities cooperate with the police, the prosecution and the courts. Approximately 300 environmental criminal cases are processed in Denmark each year. Penalties are moderate, but the judicial system contributes to the pressure placed on polluters.
In Chapter 14 I collate the most important Danish experiences with environmental administration under ten points.
My sources, many of which are in Danish, are given in the notes. The literature list for each chapter is divided in four parts:
| 1) The most important material in Danish |
| 2) Printed material in English |
| 3) Printed legal texts in English |
| 4) English translations of legal texts available at the Danish EPA |
