Agency asks police to investigate Google’s Muhos data centre project

Finland’s Permit and Supervisory Agency has asked police to investigate Google’s data centre project in Muhos, Yle reports. The agency says the matter is confidential under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities and that it will not comment further.

A private individual has also asked Oulu Police to investigate the project. Police told Yle that preliminary inquiries have not begun in either case, and that they are waiting for information including a statement from the agency. If the requests proceed, they will be handled by the police’s financial crime unit, communications specialist Riikka-Tiina Sipilä said.

The agency has reviewed Google’s ditching notification and other material submitted for the project. It says Google must provide a more detailed water management plan by November 5, including planned structures and their locations, a timetable, and water monitoring by an independent party.

The plan must also account for exceptional runoff caused by heavy rain and snowmelt, as well as risks from black shale and soil that can produce acidity. The agency says the information available does not establish with sufficient certainty that the project’s effects on waterways can be prevented and managed appropriately. It warned that Google could face a conditional fine if it does not take the required measures.

Google submitted its ditching notification after mid-September. The project includes about nine kilometres of new ditches, most of which have already been built. The agency says the notification should have been filed at least 60 days before work began and that a permit under the Water Act is required because the work could harm the environment.

The agency says black shale at the data centre site could increase water acidity and metal concentrations during ditching, land drainage and excavation. Monitoring results submitted by Google have already shown changes suggesting acidification. Google has applied lime to the soil and built lime-filtering dams, but the agency says those measures are not sufficient. It is also concerned about sediment and nutrient runoff, particularly during periods of heavy rain.