Google’s forest clearing in Finland has led the country’s environmental regulator to refer the company’s planned data centre at Muhos to police, while demanding further measures to protect local waterways. The developments follow months of extensive land clearance at two northern sites before their environmental impact assessments were completed.
On 22 October, the Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, LVV) confirmed that it had submitted an investigation request to police concerning Muhos. It declined to disclose details because the matter is confidential. The referral does not establish criminal wrongdoing.
The authority also confirmed that Tuike Finland Oy, Google’s subsidiary, had said it stopped environmentally significant preparatory work at Muhos and at Otanmäki, in the municipality of Kajaani, on 14 October. The restrictions remain in place while the assessments are unfinished; planning and minor, easily reversible activities are treated separately.
An estimated 400,000 trees cleared across two sites
Environmental expert Mari Annala of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto, SLL) estimates that approximately 250,000 trees were felled at Muhos and another 150,000 at Otanmäki, according to The Guardian’s reporting from the affected areas. The combined figure of 400,000 is an environmental group’s estimate, not an official count of individual trees.
Google has confirmed the clearance of approximately 330 hectares at Muhos and just under 200 hectares at Kajaani, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle. The work went beyond cutting trees: surface soil was stripped, access roads built and drainage altered. Residents interviewed by The Guardian described muddy water near the Muhos site and concerns about its connection to the Oulujoki river system.
SLL chair Hanna Halmeenpää criticised the scale of the work and the apparent assumption that it could proceed without completing the environmental assessments. Speaking to The Guardian, she said:
“It’s pure arrogance and it’s amazing.”
Why the forest clearing breached the required sequence
Under Finnish rules, projects of this scale must undergo an environmental impact assessment before major irreversible changes are made. Permanent removal of forest from a continuous area exceeding 200 hectares is itself one of the thresholds that triggers the procedure. At both Google sites, substantial clearance and earthworks took place while assessments were still pending.
Google says it acted in good faith on its understanding of forestry legislation and local procedures. Its Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologised publicly on 13 October and said the company took responsibility for what happened. Google has also said it intends to plant trees across 130 hectares at Muhos.
In a statement published on 22 October, Kajaani city authorities said the company had submitted the required forestry notifications and that ecological sites identified in local nature surveys had been excluded from clearing. However, the city explicitly acknowledged that these surveys do not legally replace the project’s environmental impact assessment. The LVV’s earlier intervention, reported by NordiskPost on 7 October, concerns that separate legal requirement.
Water management is now under closer scrutiny
The regulator’s latest findings extend beyond the missing assessments. According to the LVV’s 22 October statement, plans for Muhos included around nine kilometres of new ditches, most of which had already been dug. The agency says the notification about drainage works should have been made at least 60 days before work began and that a permit under water legislation is required.
The site lies in an area associated with black shale and potentially acid-generating soils. The LVV says results provided by the company already show changes consistent with acidification, while runoff could also carry sediment, nutrients or metals. These are regulatory concerns about potential environmental harm; they are not a finding that every feared effect has occurred.
Tuike Finland must submit a detailed water-management plan by 5 November, including the location and timing of protective works and independent water monitoring. The agency has also requested clarification of any maintenance or environmental protection work at both sites by that date. It says enforcement proceedings may follow if necessary measures are not taken.
The case has raised questions about official oversight
The dispute has also exposed gaps in how authorities were informed. In an interview with Yle on 23 October, LVV official Sari Myllyoja said the agency first learnt about the clearance at Muhos at a meeting on 27 August, several months after work began. It formally requested explanations on 18 September and called for the environmentally significant work to stop on 6 October. The agency says it will examine its own oversight procedures and how information moves between public bodies.
Finnish Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala described the need for official intervention as exceptional, telling Swedish broadcaster SVT that companies operating in Finland must obey its environmental rules.
The controversy comes as Google pursues a €13 billion investment programme for Finnish data centres and related infrastructure across several locations, not only Muhos and Kajaani. Separately, Yle reported on 23 October that documents concerning the company’s older Hamina data centre described unauthorised clearing on 1.3 hectares during an earlier expansion, a distinct case that does not determine the outcome of the current proceedings.
For Muhos and Kajaani, the immediate position is unchanged: major environment-altering works are suspended until the assessments are completed. The next concrete deadline is 5 November, when the regulator expects Google’s further explanations and water-protection proposals.
