Protocol Between Finland, Norway And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics Concerning Amendments To The Regulations Of 24 April 1947 For The Regulation Of Lake Inari In Connexion With The Use Of The Niskakoski Dam And To The Protocol Of 29 April 1954 Concerning Amendments To Paragraph 2 Of The Said Regulations
Source: UNTS, vol. 243, pp. 148 (160).
The Government of Finland, the Government of Norway and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have, as a result of negotiations held at Oslo between 5 and 16 September 1955 and with a view to meeting the request of the Norwegian Government for a revision of the Regulations for the regulation of Lake Inari as at present in force, decided to sign this Protocol, and have appointed the undersigned as their representatives, who, having exchanged their full powers; found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
Article 1
With a view to satisfying, as far as possible, the common interests of the three parties concerned, the above-mentioned Governments have reviewed the existing "Regulations for the regulation of Lake Inari in connexion with the use of the Niskakoski Dam", signed at Moscow on 24 April 1947, and the Protocol concerning amendments to paragraph 2 of the said Regulations, signed at Helsinki on 29 April 1954, and have adopted new Regulations for the regulation of Lake Inari by means of the Niskakoski Dam, which are annexed to this Protocol and constitute an integral part thereof.
The Agreement between the Government of Finland and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning the regulation of Lake Inari by means of the Niskakoski Dam, signed at Moscow on 24 April 1947, and the Protocol for the implementation of that Agreement, signed at Helsinki on 29 April 1954, shall nevertheless remain in force.
Article 2
If, in the light of experience in the operation of the Niskakoski control dam or by reason of timber-floating or of the eventual construction of new power stations or dams on the Paatsjoki River, the annexed regulations must
be amended (see article 1), such amendments shall be made by agreement between the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Finland, the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts of Norway and the Ministry of Electric-Power Stations of the USSR. These Ministries shall be referred respectively in the annexed Regulations as "the Finnish Ministry", "the Norwegian Ministry" and "the USSR Ministry".
Article 3
This Protocol shall come into force on the date of its signature.
DONE in triplicate at Oslo, on 24 February 1956, in the Finnish, Norwegian and Russian languages, the three texts being equally authentic.
For the Government of Finland: Eduard Hj. PALIN For the Government of Norway: Halvard LANGE For the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: G. ARKADEV
REGULATIONS FOR THE REGULATION OF LAKE INARI BY MEANS OF THE NISKAKOSKI DAM
1. The flow of water from Lake Inari shall be so regulated that the water-level of the lake does not rise above 119.50 metres above sea level nor fall below 117.14 metres above sea level.
The levels relate to the bench-mark of 119.50 metres above sea level which is carved in the rock at the end of the Nellimvuono inlet of Lake Inari and is marked on the map annexed to the Agreement of 24 April 1947 between the Governments of Finland and of the USSR.
2. The flow of water from Lake Inari shall be continuous within the limits of a daily mean discharge of 120 to 240 cubic metres per second on condition that the water-level of Lake Inari does not rise above 119.50 metres above sea level nor fall below 117.14 metres above sea level and that the rate of discharge at the Rajakoski hydroelectric power station can fluctuate within a daily range of 80 to 240 cubic metres per second.
With a view to preparing Lake Inari to receive the spring flood, preventing the overfilling of the lake and limiting the volume of flood discharge and the flood levels on the Paatsjoki river below the Rajakoski hydroelectric power station, the flow of water from Lake Inari shall be regulated on the basis of forecasts and instructions drawn up by «the Finnish Ministry», in accordance with the following conditions:
(a) The water-level of Lake Inari shall be lowered to 118.00 metres above sea level by 1 May. If the forecasts indicate that the spring flood will be very heavy, the water-level of Lake Inari may be reduced to below 118.00 metres above sea level by 1 May. During the period before the spring flood, the discharge from the lake shall not exceed 280 cubic metres per second;
(b) After 1 May the discharge of water from Lake Inari may be gradually increased but shall not exceed 450 cubic metres per second before the water-level of Lake Inari has risen to 119.50 metres above sea level;
If in the case of very heavy floods the water-level of Lake Inari threatens to rise above 119.50 metres above sea level, the rate of discharge may, as an exceptional measure, be increased up to 500 cubic metres per second when the water-level reaches 119.45 metres above sea level. This shall be the maximum permissible rate of discharge;
(c) When the water-level of Lake Inari falls to 117.75 metres above sea level, the rate of discharge may be reduced to 75 cubic metres per second, and when the level falls below 117.30 metres above sea level, the rate may be reduced to 45 cubic metres per second. This shall be the minimum permissible rate of discharge;
(d) For the purpose of allowing the machinery of the Jäniskoski hydroelectric power station to be overhauled, the discharge of water from the lake may be reduced to 85 cubic metres per second for not more than 15 days a year. Between 1 June and 15 September, such reduction shall be allowed only in cases of urgent necessity;
(e) In special circumstances or when the spillway of the Rajakoski hydroelectric power station must be inspected and repaired, the management of that station may, subject to notifying, if possible, the Norwegian frontier authorities sufficiently far in advance, stop the flow of water at Rajakoski completely for not more than eight hours;
(f) The above-mentioned rate of discharge of 120 to 240 cubic metres per second shall be maintained in connexion with the floating of timber in the Paatsjoki hiver. In case of special need, the daily mean discharge shall, on the basis of a request by Finland or Norway made ten days in advance, be maintained at not less than 150 cubic metres per second for a total period of not more than one month. This specially requested rate of discharge shall not coincide with the repair of turbines at the Jäniskoski hydro-electric power station.
3. The rate of discharge may not be suddenly increased or decreased to such an extent as to be prejudicial to private or public interests. In years when there is an abundance of water, "the Finnish Ministry" shall inform "the Norwegian Ministry" of forecasts concerning the amount of water and the contemplated instructions for dealing with the situation.
4. In connexion with the discharge of water from Lake Inari, the Jäniskoski hydroelectric power station shall be guided by the forecasts made available by "the Finnish Ministry" sufficiently far in advance concerning the volume of run-off expected during the periods 1 November to 30 April, 1 May to 31 July and 1 August to 31 October and by the instructions with regard to its discharge, as well as by special forecasts concerning summer floods and such new forecasts in respect of other times during the aforementioned periods as may be necessary for dealing with the discharge of water.
5. The discharge through the Niskakoski dam shall be effected primarily through the aperture in the dam which is adjacent to the flood-gate of the fish ladder.
6. The water-level of the control reservoir shall be determined by means of the automatic water-level gauge which is maintained in the Nellimvuono inlet of Lake Inari by "the Finnish Ministry".
The volume of water discharged through the Niskakoski Dam shall be determined from the readings of the automatic water-level gauge in the well maintained at Kosattioja by "the USSR Ministry" for the purpose of measuring the water-level and by means of the graph of flow kept by "the Finnish Ministry" and further verified by the supplementary measurements of the rate of flow carried out jointly by "the Finnish Ministry" and "the USSR Ministry" at their joint expense.
7. "The Finnish Ministry" shall keep a daily log of the mean readings of the water-level gauge in the Nellimvuono inlet. "The USSR Ministry" shall also keep a daily log of the mean readings of the water-level and rate-of-flow gauges at Kosattioja. "The Norwegian Ministry" shall keep a daily log of the water-levels of Björnevatn lake. Extracts from the logs and water-level graphs shall be communicated to the other parties on request.
8. For the purposes of the forecasts of the volume of run-off, "the Finnish Ministry" shall maintain stations for the measurement of precipitation.
"The Norwegian Ministry" and "the USSR Ministry" shall provide for the necessary measurement of precipitation in their own territories.
9. "The USSR Ministry shall" maintain at the Niskakoski dam the existing fish ladder and a flood-gate for timber floating. The fish ladder shall be kept open every year from the melting of the ice in the spring until 1 December.
"The USSR Ministry" shall, by agreement with "the Finnish Ministry", participate in such measures for the preservation of the fish stocks as may in future be considered necessary.
