COUNTRY REPORTS * BULGARIA
Art. 15 regulates the duties of the state to guarantee environmental protection and rehabilitation; the maintenance of biodiversity, and the reasonable use of natural resources.
Art. 55 stipulates the right to a healthy and friendly environment in accordance with the standards and norms established, as well as the obligation of individual citizens to protect the environment.
Art. 18 establishes the right of the state to be the exclusive proprietor of waters, forests and parks of national significance, of nature reserves, of ores and minerals, and of the littoral beach strip. The conditions and procedure under which the state grants concessions and permits in respect of these activities have been settled by the Concessions Act adopted by parliament in October 1995. In Art. 2, Par. 3 of this law a provision was made that no concessions are to be granted if there is a danger to the environment and to protected areas and sites.
The right of citizens to be informed has also been regulated in the Constitution. According to Art. 41, each person has the right to search for, to receive and to disseminate information, including information about the environmental situation. Citizens have the right to be informed by the public authorities and institutions in respect of issues representing a lawful interest to them, except for those cases when the information constitutes a state secret, or another secret protected by law which affects the rights and the good reputation of other citizens, as well as national security, public order, and so too public health and morale. All these reasons have been regulated by the Constitution of the country. No reasons to deny access to ecological information in particular are to be found in Bulgarian law. Consequently, the grounds for doing so originate solely from the Constitution. Also, no special procedure has been set for legal defense or compensation. Art. 15 of the Environmental Protection Act states that any person denied access to ecological information is entitled to file an appeal by way of the common administrative (i.e., legal) procedure. In this sense, there exists a draft regulation stipulating the procedure for collecting and submitting information about the environmental situation, but it has not yet been adopted.
The basic environmental principles, directives, regulations and recommendations of the European Union have been incorporated into the Environmental Protection Act from 1991 and into the Decrees issued by the Council of Ministers and regulations adopted on their basis.
The remaining environmental laws of the Republic of Bulgaria were adopted long ago. They are outdated and do not meet contemporary social-economic and political conditions in a country undergoing transition towards a market economy and a democratic society.
The prevention of environmental damage, as well as protection and verification of environmental quality, the protection of human health, and the reasonable and rational use of natural resources, have all been included in the following, for example: the Environmental Protection Act, the Act on the Protection of Air, Water and Soil, the Act on water resources, the Act on nature protection, the Act on public health, the criminal code. The prevention of damage, control of pollution sources, the 'polluter pays' principle, and the integration of environmental care with other topics of national policy have been regulated in chapter I "General", chapter III "Control of the environmental situation", chapter V "Rights and duties of the public and municipal authorities", and chapter VI "Responsibilities" of the Environmental Protection Act.
The principle 'polluters pay' has been adopted in the legislation, in Art. 3, Paragraph 3, Art. 32 and Art. 34 of the EPA, and in the regulation on the procedure for setting and imposing sanctions for pollution or damage incurred to the environment above permissible standards, adopted in Decree Nr. 24 from 1993 of the Council of Ministers. This law regulates mainly the imposing of fines on individual citizens, whilst the regulation on sanctions deals with the imposing of fines on legal persons/companies, plants, and thermal electric stations (all these being the main environmental polluters). Sums for monthly and one-time sanctions have been fixed. The monthly sanctions are set for those who systematically cause pollution or damage to the environment. One-time sanctions have been provided for incidental pollution having a significant impact on the 'components' of the environment. The maximum amount of the sanctions is 30 million Lv.
In Annex No. 1, projects of international significance have been set forth which are subject to EIA, and in Annex No. 2, projects of national and regional significance and subject to EIA. The list of these projects is fully in compliance with Annex No. 1 of Directive 85/337.
The projects and activities which are obligatorily subject to EIA, have been listed in detail in the above-mentioned 'Implementation of the Environmental Protection Act'. However, the law also provides that other projects and activities can be subject to EIA, besides those listed, under the following prerequisites:
Some of the decisions on environmental impact assessment are brought to court by non-governmental ecological organizations, affected companies and citizens. In these cases, the implementation of a great number of projects has been ceased.
Art. 353 A of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of up to 50,000 Lv for officials who, in the course of their duties, conceal information or announce false information about the state of the environment and its components (i.e., air, water, soil, maritime areas) which has led to significant damage to the environment, or to the lives or health of the public.
The legal order in the Environmental Protection Act is, as follows:
According to Art. 9 of the Environmental Protection Act, all persons, citizens, companies, enterprises, public and municipal authorities, and non-governmental environmental organizations have the right of access to available information about the state of the environment. Information about the state of the environment embraces data referring to the state of the components of the environment, data about the results of measures having led to or with the potential to lead to pollution or damage to the environment or its components, data about the measures, and measures pursued for environmental care and rehabilitation.
Under law, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, and the National Statistical Institute, authorized individuals and the municipal authorities have the duty to submit information about the state of the environment. This duty is provided also for all public and municipal authorities, individuals and companies (including the producers of commodities and services) in the following cases:
In any case, the information submitted shall be accompanied by an explanation about the possible effects on human health and the environmental impact, and by recommendations for public response, if negative effects are possible.
General information about the state of the environment is provided in the bulletins issued by the Ministry of Environment. All citizens, institutions and non-governmental eco-organizations have the right to apply for such information from the relevant authorities. The non-submission of information within these possible terms shall be deemed a refusal. In case the request for information has been denied, the given bodies or persons are entitled to initiate appropriate measures to defend their rights under administrative procedure.
The following regulations have been adopted: regulation for raising, spending and controlling the funds for environmental protection; regulation for the arrangement and activity of the national environmental trust fund. The money from the funds is used for financing activities related to environmental protection only. The National Fund for environmental protection and the fund "Ecology Programs in Mountainous Regions" were created by the Ministry of Environment. The money in the National Fund for environmental protection is granted by the decision of its board of directors. In principle, there are no limitations for companies, plants, municipalities, thermal electric stations and other units in applying for financing from this fund. The board of directors defines the criteria for the financing of eco-programs. The money from the fund "Ecology Programs in Mountainous Regions" is spent on grants for ecology programs realized by the public and municipal authorities in mountainous regions; interest-free loans to companies, private producers and their unions, and for the implementation of ecology programs in municipalities and mountainous regions alike.
Money that originates from the privatization of public and municipal enterprises and fees into the National Fund and to the municipal funds for environmental protection is regulated by Art. 6, par. 1, item 2, and in Art. 6, par. 2, item 2 of the Act on transformation and privatization of state and municipally-owned enterprises (adopted in 1992 and amended in 1994). The law provides that five per cent of the income from the privatization of state-owned enterprises shall go to the National Fund for environmental protection. Similarly, five per cent of the income from the privatization of municipally-owned enterprises shall be directed to the municipal funds for environmental protection.
The National Trust Fund is a legal person managing the financial resources coming from swap transactions 'Debt against the Environment' and 'Debt against Nature' and from governments and international financial institutions at which the resources are designed for environmental protection in the Republic of Bulgaria. The exchange transactions 'Debt against the Environment' and "Debt against Nature" are in essence financial agreements through which the financial debt of the country is exchanged against investments in the field of environmental and nature protection.
The resources from the National Trust Fund are spent on loans and subsidies for investments in national and international environmental project of priority, on ecological equipment, for BAT technologies, activities connected with the protection of biological diversity and protected areas, bringing the operation of privatized enterprises in conformity with the requirements of environmental legislation, and on liquidating pollution and damage to the environment incurred in the past.
The majority of the sanctions imposed are attacked in court and the cases are tried for several years, as a result of which no financial resources come to the National and Municipal funds for environmental protection. Sometimes the companies and municipalities do not spend the low-interest credits and subsidies as dedicated, for ecological projects and activities. Legal proceedings begin and continue, for the restoration of these resources back to the funds.
In principle, all economic activities and companies are subject to eco-revision. This revision could be carried out also after a proposal is made by any interested physical or legal person addressed to the relevant authorities. For the facilities in operation, the eco-revision is usually made periodically, following a prescription proposed by the relevant authorities. For large, facilities-originators of pollution, the revision is made at least once every five years. An obligatory revision is made also with respect to enterprises and facilities subject to privatization, restitution or investment of financial resources for a new construction. In this case, the new proprietor is not responsible for environmental damages occurred in the past.
The facilities in operation obligatorily subject to revision are listed in Appendix No. 1 and Appendix No. 2 of the Environmental Protection Act. The eco-revision is assigned by the proprietor or the user of the facility or of the company, enterprise, etc. to independent experts licensed by the Ministry of Environment.
The procedure of eco-revision shall go through the following stages: 1. Preparation of a report on the eco-revision; 2. making a decision in respect of the report, by the relevant authority (the Ministry of Environment or the Regional Environment Inspection Office).
As a result of the eco-revision of the facilities under operation, the authorized body shall take one of the following decisions:
In the decision, the motives for its issuance shall be indicated and the conditions given, the fulfillment of which will be controlled by the authorized body. An appeal against the decision can be filed in court.
The Act on air, water and soil protection from pollution from 1963 and the rules for its implementation, from 1964, do not correspond to the present social and economic conditions in Bulgaria, as a result of which some of the regulations therein are no longer appropriate. For example, the regulations concerning fines to be imposed are not being implemented because of the small amount /up to 400 Lv/ which has no deterrent effect. When possible, the framework regulations from the Environmental Protection Act are implemented.
A bill related to clean air has been prepared which has been approved by the Council of Ministers and which is to be passed by parliament. In 1994, standards about maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in the air around residential areas were developed for nine pollutants: dust, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbonic anhydride, and the aerosols of lead and cadmium. These standards comply with standards of the World Health Organization and are very close to the standards of the European Union. These standards have been included in the regulation on maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in the atmospheric air of residential areas with its amendment and supplement from 1994.
Control in respect of air cleanness is exercised by the Ministry of Environment and by the Ministry of Health.
Art. 5 of the Act related to the protection of the environment, water and soil from pollution obliges companies constructing, reconstructing or expanding their industrial enterprises and thermal electric plants to use such technology that the least possible number of harmful substances be emitted into the air, and in such quantities that are under the maximum permissible standards. The companies are obliged to use best available technologies.
The principle of preventing pollution has been regulated by the order which obliges industrial enterprises polluting the air with harmful substances to design, construct and install the necessary purification installation. Putting industrial enterprises into operation is prohibited if the purification installation equipment was not in operation beforehand. The enterprises are obliged to maintain their purification equipment in working order. The principle of prevention is guaranteed also with the procedure for environmental impact assessment (EIA). For the general public, free access has been provided for information about air pollution incurred by industrial enterprises.
The regulations and standards for the permissible emissions of harmful substances discharged into ambient air are implemented through monitoring, controlling and the imposing of sanctions when exceeded. A national system for the monitoring and control of the environmental situation in the country has been established at the Ministry of Environment. When the maximum permissible emissions are exceeded, the polluters shall be sanctioned as per the procedure of the Environmental Protection Act and the regulation on the sanctions. The thermal electric stations operating with local coal, rich in sulfur, are the greatest air polluter in Bulgaria. They fail to take measures to build purification equipment and many times exceed the admissible standards for sulfur oxides and dust. The authorized bodies (the Ministry of Environment and the regional inspections offices) impose singularly high fines on thermal electric plants, of up to 4 or 5 million Lv monthly. However, they usually challenge the sanctions in court and deny payment.
The classification of chemical substances according to their toxicity and reaction capability /fire danger, explosion danger, etc./ is made in accord with regulations and standards. The list of these substances is in line with the UNO list of hazardous goods. In addition, there is a list of hazardous chemical substances prohibited for use in Bulgaria.
All hazardous chemical substances in Bulgaria, their compounds, and mixtures are subject to registration and declaration before the local authorities. When such substances are to be carried, the requirements of domestic normative rules and international treaties must be observed.
The control of the activities involving the use of hazardous chemical substances in the territory of Bulgaria is realized by the Standing Governmental Commission on natural disasters and large-scale industrial accidents, by bodies authorized by this commission, and by the regional authorities. The commission is entitled to stop an activity involving hazardous chemical substances, if the requirements on production, trade, transportation, packing and labeling have not been met.
In the case of an accident, the producers of hazardous chemical substances are obliged to inform the relevant authorities: the Standing Governmental Commission on natural disasters and large-scale industrial accidents, the national Head Office for Civil Defense, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its regional department. These authorities are obliged in turn to take the necessary measures.
The Republic of Bulgaria has ratified the following international conventions: the Ramsar Convention "on wetlands of international importance, especially as waterfowl habitats" which has entered into force in Bulgaria in January, 1976; the Bern convention for the protection of wild European flora and fauna and the natural habitats which entered into force in Bulgaria in May, 1991; the Washington Convention for international trade in endangered species of the wild fauna and flora which entered into force in Bulgaria in April, 1991.
According to their legislative program for 1996, the government will approve and submit to parliament the bill related to medicinal plants only. The following bills have not been included in the program for passage in 1996: the Bill on protected areas, and the Bill on biological diversity. The Bill on protected areas was prepared in 1993 and submitted to parliament for passing, but it was not adopted.
In March 1994, a National Office for Nature Conservation was established at the Ministry of Environment, as a specialized body for the management, control and protection of biological diversity, protected natural sites and natural eco-systems.
The conventions, laws and regulations for the conservation of protected natural sites and for the conservation of the wild flora and fauna are, to a great extent, implemented by the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Forests and the municipal authorities. Fines and sanctions are imposed on the companies and citizens, and compensations for the damage incurred to such sites and species are collected. In many cases, the public prosecutor is informed about crimes as per Art. 278 B of the Criminal Code. Sometimes, difficulties arise in connection with the implementation of the legislation on nature conservation, in view of the out-of-date amount of some fines and compensations, and in view of the inability of definite regulations to be applied in the modern economic conditions.
By Order No. 342 of 21 April 1986 of the Minister of Environment, 327 species of wild birds were declared protected in Bulgaria. Except in circumstances where a permit is issued and signed by the Minister of Environment, no catching, killing and stuffing of protected species of birds is allowed, regardless of their condition and phase of physical development. In addition, the trade and export of protected species of birds outside the country is prohibited - both alive and stuffed - if no permit for this activity is granted. The hunting and disturbing of protected species of birds during their reproduction period is absolutely prohibited, as is the collection and destruction of their eggs and of the young. Administrative and penal liability for those who violate these restrictions have been provided for. The administrative liability consists in fines of up to 10.000 Lv, according to the act on administrative infringements and penalties, and in the obligatory payment of compensation, according to the tariff of compensation for incurring irreversible damages to protected natural sites.
The penal liability is set forth in Art. 278 B of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to 100.000 Lv for irreversibly damaged wild birds.
The conservation of the wild birds is made under the general management and control of the Ministry of Environment, in accordance with the regulations of the Nature Protection Act and the Rules for its implementation, and of the Order No. 342 dated 21 April 1986.
A national register of protected natural areas, and protected species of wild flora and fauna is available. The protected natural sites are grouped in sites of world, national or local significance. The most important natural sites and species of the wild flora and fauna have been put under strict protection. Natural sites of special scientific, historical or cultural significance, of specific natural beauty or serving as places of recreation and tourism are put under protection. The protected natural sites are, as follows: reserves, national parks, landmarks, localities with specific landscape, historic places and valuable species of flora and fauna. Individual species of wild flora and fauna are put under the regime of protection which are endangered by extinction or destruction, or if some scientific or economic considerations make their preservation necessary. The order of protection is not causing a change in their ownership. Only their management, use and protection are put under the orders of the act on nature protection.
Typically, all these regulations and standards concerning the noise have not been harmonized with the regulations and standards of the European Union in this field. In the Regulation of 1993 concerning the sanctions, a section IV "Sanctions for the noise load and extreme electromagnetic fields" has been included. In this section, imposing of sanctions to juridical persons /companies, enterprises, etc./ is regulated that are the originators of ambient noise and electromagnetic fields of levels beyond the norms.
The existing regulations and standards for the admissible levels of ambient noise and electromagnetic fields are being implemented to the extent that the available equipment allows their measurement. For example, because of faulty measuring equipment locally, no sanctions for noise load beyond the admissible levels are being imposed.
In some larger towns, control posts have been established for measuring of noise and electromagnetic field levels. In the cases when the permissible levels are exceeded, the owners of the emitting facilities are obliged to take measures to decrease the emissions within the permissible levels, or to stop the operation of the facility.
The Ministry of Environment has developed a draft bill on environmental noise. This bill has not yet been submitted to the government for approval.
A bill for ratification of the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary transportation of hazardous waste and their neutralization was submitted to the government for approval. A part of the regulations of this convention are implemented in the operative legislation of the country, through the regulations of the Decree No 153 of the Council of Ministers for the collection, transportation, storage and neutralization of hazardous waste /issued in 1993/.
Direct and more specific legal regulations for waste incinerators and for its disposal sites have not been adopted and are not operative yet. The operative legislation for waste management is implemented by the controlling authorities, the companies and citizens, although being scarce and under- developed. Inspections are carried out, fines and sanctions are imposed on those found guilty of failing to observe the regulations related to waste management. The difficulties that arise are a result of the lack of legal arrangements for waste management, and of the incomplete regulations in this field.
A national program concerning integrated waste management is now under development. This program will be grounded on the objectives set forth for the reduction of waste, its utilization, neutralization and recycling, as well as the reduction of risk from former pollution. The polluter pays principle with respect to the waste is being realized by means of the Regulation for Sanctions. On the base of this regulation, sanctions for polluting the environment with waste beyond the permissible standards are being imposed. The type of sanction is determined, after an inspection on the spot is made of the enterprise involved in this pollution. The prevention and reduction of the waste produce, clean technology, constraint for a non-controlled discharge of waste, the issuance of permits for the collection, transportation, storage and neutralization of waste deal with hazardous waste only. The general legal arrangement for waste management will enter into force once the bill related to the limitation of harmful effects of household, constructional and industrial waste to the environment is passed.
Hazardous waste is treated by physical or legal persons with permits for this activity. The permits for the collection, transportation, storage and neutralization of hazardous waste are issued by the Ministry of Environment, or by Regional Environmental Inspectors, for a period of not longer than three years. The permit comprises the specific requirements of the relevant authorities, inclusive of the requirements to improve the technology and to reduce the volume and the risk of hazardous waste.
The controlling bodies inspect the enterprises engaged in waste management and impose fines and sanctions on those found guilty of not observing the requirements for recording, declaration, accountancy, collection, storage, transportation and neutralization of hazardous waste. Sanctions are imposed also on enterprises incurring damages or pollution to the earth's surface, as a result of a non-controlled discharge of hazardous waste.
Although not updated, the environmental legislation dealing with the protection of water from pollution, the operative legislation is strictly implemented. Systematic monitoring and control for the quality of surface waters are performed. When establishing infringements of the laws, regulations and standards, the controlling authorities of the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Public Health, the National Council of Waters take urgent steps.
When the maximum admissible levels of concentration of harmful substances in the waters, sanctions and fines are imposed on polluters /companies, enterprises, citizens/ , in accordance with the regulation related to sanctions, the act related to waters and the Environmental Protection Act. In the case of pollution that is threatening human health and life, the water supply will be cut off. There are difficulties in connection with the implementation of the legislation, as a result of the failure of the new legal arrangement to harmonize with EU legislation. At present, such a legal arrangement is under development.
The parameters and standards used to establish the quality of the drinking waters are confirmed by the Ministry of Health, agreed with the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Territorial Development and Building. The projects dealing with the categorization of the surface water streams and basins have been elaborated for the river valleys separately, on the grounds of appropriacy. The categories for the water receivers are confirmed by the Minister of Environment. The correct and expedient utilization of the waters for drinking and the everyday life is controlled by the National Council of Waters at the Council of Ministers, by the Ministry of Territorial Development and Building and by the Ministry of Public Health. The Ministry of Environment is also engaged in the public control of the water protection. For each use of water, prior permission is required. The permits for water use are issued by the National Council of Waters at the Council of Ministers. Such a decision can be canceled if the requirements have not been observed.
In the operative legislation, there are no direct legal regulations for an integrated ecological quality of waters.
A system for monitoring the quality of the surface waters has been established. The systematization of the observations and the determination of the tendencies in the development of the water quality is made difficult because of the large number of places for monitoring and the variety of parameters for evaluation. The general parameters of the quality of the surface waters have shown a further improvement in the situation of the basic parameters: the biochemical oxygen demand - 5, the nitrates, etc.