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Bulgarian Environmental Protection Act, part 2
Last update: 2008-08-22 01:08:51
Chapter Eight
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEM
Article 143
The National Environmental Monitoring System shall cover the entire territory of Bulgaria.
Article 144
(1) The National Environmental Monitoring System shall comprehend:
1. the national networks for:
a) ambient air monitoring;
b) precipitation and surface-water monitoring;
c) ground-water monitoring;
d) sea-water monitoring;
e) geological environment monitoring;
f) (amended, SG No. 89/2007) soil monitoring;
g) forests and protected-areas monitoring;
h) (amended, SG No. 77/2005) biological diversity monitoring;
i) radiological monitoring;
j) environmental noise pollution monitoring;
k) monitoring of non-ionizing radiation;
l) monitoring of waste landfills and of past pollution with waste;
2. a system for information on, and control of, air emissions and the state of waste waters;
3. the operation, communication and information support and laboratory services to the networks covered under Item 1.
(2) The national environmental monitoring networks shall be designed and built in conformity with the national, European and international standards.
(3) For the purposes of the information support of the National Environmental Monitoring System, a National Automated System for Environmental Monitoring shall be established.
(4) The National Automated System for Environmental Monitoring shall be organized at national, basin, and regional level.
(5) The measurements and laboratory tests shall be performed by accredited laboratories.
(6) The Minister of Environment and Water shall issue an order endorsing the networks covered under Item 1 of Paragraph (1).
Article 145
The National Environmental Monitoring System shall perform the following tasks:
1. observation of the national networks in order to determine the state of the environmental media;
2. processing, analysis, visualization and storage of the information from the networks covered under Item 1 and from self-monitoring;
3. provision of information required for current control;
4. trends analysis, environmental risk assessment and development of proposals for improvement of the state of the environment;
5. information support of the executive authorities and of the public;
6. creation and maintenance of special inventory cards and registers for the environmental media and the factors impacting the said media;
7. exchange of information on the state of the environment with the European Monitoring System.
Article 146
(1) (Supplemented, SG No. 74/2005, SG No. 89/2007) For the purpose of conduct of self-monitoring, the persons obliged under the Water Act, the Soils Act, the Clean Ambient Air Act, the Subsurface Resources Act, the Protection against Environmental Noise Act and the and the Waste Management Act, shall elaborate a plan in conformity with the conditions imposed by the permit or by the EIA decision.
(2) The self-monitoring plan shall be approved by the authority which has obligated the person referred to in Paragraph (1).
(3) Upon approval of the self-monitoring plan, the authority referred to in Paragraph (2) shall determine the information which the persons conducted self-monitoring shall be obliged to submit for inclusion in the National Automated System for Environmental Monitoring, as well as the procedure and manner for submission of the said information.
Article 147
(1) (Supplemented, SG No. 74/2005) The National Environmental Monitoring System, with the exception of the National Monitoring System for Noise in Urbanized Areas, shall be organized and directed by the Minister of Environment and Water.
(2) (Supplemented, SG No. 74/2005) The creation, operation, logistical, information and software support of the National Automated System for Eco-monitoring, with the exception of the National Monitoring System for Noise in Urbanized Areas, shall be implemented by the Executive Environmental Agency.
(3) (Repealed, SG No. 77/2005).
(4) (Supplemented, SG No. 74/2005) Methodological guidance of the monitoring activity, with the exception of the monitoring activity on noise in urbanized areas, shall be provided by the Executive Environment Agency.
(5) The state of the environment shall be assessed at regional and national level, respectively, by the RIEWs and the Executive Environment Agency.
(6) The data on and assessments of the state of the environment shall be published in a quarterly and annual Bulletin on the State of the Environment.
(7) The observation and assessment data obtained as a result of the activity of the National Environmental Monitoring System, as well as from self-monitoring, shall provide a basis for the exercise of control and for imposition of sanctions upon violation of the regulatory requirements.
Chapter Nine
CONTROL
Section I
General Terms
Article 148
(1) The Ministry of Environment and Water shall exercise control over the environmental media and the factors impacting the said media.
(2) The said control shall be preventive, current and follow-up.
(3) At the national level, the said control shall be implemented by the Minister of Environment and Water or by officials authorized thereby, and at the regional level by the RIEW directors, the Basin Directorate directors, the National Park directors, the municipality mayors or by persons authorized thereby.
Article 149
(1) (Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005) The natural and legal persons shall be obligated to afford immediate access to all sites and areas and render assistance to the authorities covered under Article 148 (2) herein for the purpose of conduct of inspection, for measurement or taking of samples from existing or potential sources of environmental pollution and/or environmental damage.
(2) Access to sites and areas of the Ministry of Interior or to the Ministry of Defence shall be granted by the competent chief of structural unit of the ministry.
(3) The executive authorities and the administrations thereof, the organizations, the juristic and natural persons shall be obliged to render assistance to the authorities exercising control over performance of the functions thereof.
Article 150
The natural and juristic persons possessing and using treatment facilities and waste treatment facilities shall be obliged to ensure the operation of the said facilities according to the provisions of the legislative acts and conforming to the conditions set in the EIA decisions, the permits and the other relevant individual administrative acts.
Article 151
(Amended, SG No. 77/2005)
(1) In respect of any administrative violations ascertained in the course of the control activity, the control authorities shall draw up written statements ascertaining the violations.
(2) In the cases referred to in Paragraph (1), the control authorities may issue written prescriptions and orders imposing coercive administrative measures.
Section II
Preventive Control
Article 152
(Amended, SG No. 77/2005)
Preventive environmental protection control shall be implemented through environmental assessment upon approval of plans and programmes, through EIA as a condition in the development of the investment process, as well as by means of issuance of integrated and other permits provided for in the law.
Article 153
(1) The purpose of preventive control shall be to prevent pollution and/ or damage to the environment in excess of the permissible levels prior to implementation of the proposed and/or planned activity.
(2) In the course of performance of the functions thereof and for the purpose of attaining the objective of preventive control, the authorities covered under Article 148 (3) shall issue warning statements to the natural persons, the management bodies of juristic persons and to sole traders subject to control.
(3) The statements drawn in pursuance of Paragraph (2) shall present the facts or circumstances which may lead to environmental damage and/or pollution and shall give mandatory prescriptions for avoidance of the facts and/or circumstances as presented therein.
(4) The prescriptions in the statement under Paragraph (3) shall be binding on the inspected person.
Section III
Current and Follow-Up Control
Article 154
(1) Current control shall comprehend:
1. control of the quality of the environmental media and of the factors impacting the said media;
2. control over compliance with the conditions specified in the permits and environmental impact assessment decisions as issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Basin Directorates and the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water and of the measures provided for in the programmes.
(2) (Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005) Current control shall be implemented by means of conduct of inspections of documents and on-site inspections, observations and measurements.
(3) (New, SG No. 77/2005) Where any documents certifying compliance with the established requirements are found missing upon an inspection of documents or an on-site inspection, the inspected person shall present the said documents within seven days after the inspection.
(4) (Renumbered from Paragraph 3, SG No. 77/2005) Current control shall include access to:
1. the data on the self-monitoring of the site, conducted by the operator;
2. information relating to the production activity on the site;
3. the corporeal immovables and facilities constituting state, municipal and private property.
Article 155
(1) In the course of exercise of current control, officials designated by the authorities covered under Article 148 (3) herein shall draw up memorandums of ascertainment.
(2) The memorandums of ascertainment referred to in Paragraph (1) shall present the facts and circumstances as ascertained and shall give mandatory prescriptions, specifying deadlines and persons responsible for implementation of the said prescriptions.
Article 156
Follow-up control shall be implemented by following:
1. the results of implementation of the measures provided for in the EIA decisions and the permits, as well as the results of execution of development projects;
2. implementation of the prescriptions given to the persons controlled during preventive and current control.
Article 157
The drawing up of written statements on commission of administrative violations and the issuance of penalty decrees shall be part of current and follow-up control.
Article 157a
(New, SG No. 77/2005)
(1) The Minister of Environment and Water shall control the fulfilment of the obligations of the operator where to a permit referred to in Article 104 (1) herein has been issued.
(2) (Amended, SG No. 95/2005, SG No. 82/2006, SG No. 102/2006) Control under Paragraph (1) shall be exercised by means of joint inspections by commissions designated by an order of the Minister of Environment and Water and composed of representatives of the territorial and regional structures of the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents, the Fire and Emergency Safety and Public Protection National Service, the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance, and authorized representatives of the regional governors and of the municipality mayors.
(3) The commissions referred to in Paragraph (2) shall control:
1. the fulfilment of the conditions of the permit referred to in Article 104 (1) and Article 116e (1) herein;
2. the fulfilment of the obligations of the operator referred to in Item 1 of Article 115, Article 116a, Item 1 of Article 116c (1) and Item 1 of Article 116c (2), and Article 116h (2) herein.
(4) The joint inspections shall be conducted:
1. on the basis of an annual plan for control activity of the commissions;
2. upon receipt of complaints and alerts.
(5) The joint inspections shall be conducted at least once a year for establishments and/or installations with major hazard potential.
(6) By the order referred to in Paragraph (2), the Minister of Environment and Water shall designate the members and the chairperson of the commission by name, as well as the sites subject to inspection and the scope of inspection.
(7) The Minister of Environment and Water shall authorize the chairperson of the commission referred to in Paragraph (2) to draw up memorandums of ascertainment on the inspections as conducted, to issue mandatory prescriptions, and to draw up written statements on the administrative violations ascertained upon the inspection.
(8) The Minister of Environment and Water shall issue an order endorsing the annual plan for control activity.
(9) The organization of work of the commission referred to in Paragraph (2) and the form of the annual plan referred to in Item 1 of Paragraph (4) shall be determined by the ordinance referred to in Article 104 (6) herein.
Article 157b
(New, SG No. 77/2005)
(1) During the conduct of a joint inspection, the chairperson of the commission referred to in Article 157a (2) herein shall draw up a memorandum of ascertainment, which shall be signed by all members of the said commission.
(2) The memorandum referred to in Paragraph (1) shall record the facts and circumstances as ascertained and shall give mandatory prescriptions, specifying time limits and persons responsible for acting on the said prescriptions.
(3) Upon ascertainment of violations, the chairperson of the commission referred to in Article 157a (2) herein shall draw up a written statement on administrative violation.
(4) The Minister of Environment and Water shall issue a penalty decree, imposing thereby the relevant administrative sanction on the operator.
Article 157c
(New, SG No. 77/2005)
(1) Upon conduct of an inspection, the members of the commission referred to in Article 157a (2) herein shall have the right to require the requisite data, information, reference briefs and explanations from the inspected persons and from third parties in connection with the performance of the controlled activity.
(2) The operator of the establishment and/or installation shall be obligated to ensure to the representatives of the control commission referred to in Article 157a (2) herein the assistance necessary for execution of all inspections of the establishment and/or installation, the taking of samples and collection of the information necessary for discharge of the duties thereof under this Act.
(3) The members of the commission referred to in Article 157a (2) herein shall be obligated to respect the confidentiality of any official, manufacturing and commercial secrets as have come to the knowledge thereof in the course of or in connection with the performance of the control activity.
Chapter Ten
COERCIVE ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES AND ADMINISTRATIVE
PENALTY LIABILITY
Article 158
The Minister of Environment and Water or officials authorized thereby, the RIEW directors, the National Park directors and the Basin Directorate directors shall apply coercive administrative measures in the cases of:
1. accidents caused by acts of omissions of owners or users of sites and areas;
2. disaster situations;
3. occurrence of an immediate danger of environmental pollution or damage or of damage to human health or property;
4. prevention or termination of administrative violations related to environmental protection, as well as prevention and/or elimination of the harmful consequences of such violations.
Article 159
(1) Coercive administrative measures shall be preventive, terminative and remedial.
(2) Upon application of coercive administrative measures, the Minister of Environment and Water or officials authorized thereby, the RIEW directors, the National Park directors and the Basin Directorate directors shall issue reasoned orders to terminate, with the assistance of the regional governors, the production activity of owners or users of areas, as well as to deny owners and users access to area, inter alia by means of affixation of lead seals and paper tapes.
(3) The marking of the lead seal and the manner of affixation of lead seals and paper tapes referred to in Paragraph (2) shall be endorsed by an order of the Minister of Environment and Water.
Article 160
(1) A coercive administrative measure shall be applied by means of a reasoned order issued by an authority covered under Article 158 herein.
(2) Any order referred to in Paragraph (1) shall specify the type of coercive administrative measure and the manner of application thereof.
(3) Any order referred to in Paragraph (1) shall be served on the person concerned according to the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure.
(4) (Amended, SG No. 30/2006) Any order referred to in Paragraph (1) shall be appealable by the persons concerned according to the procedure established by the Administrative Procedure Code, as the case may be.
(5) An appeal against any order referred to in Paragraph (1) shall not stay the execution thereof.
Article 161
(1) (Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005) The Minister of Environment and Water or an official authorized thereby shall appeal against any acts of the administrative authorities which conflict the statutory instruments in the field of environmental protection.
(2) Any appeal under Paragraph (1) shall stay the execution of the act appealed.
Article 162
(1) Any violation of this Act, which do not constitute a criminal offence, shall be punishable by a fine of BGN 100 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 6,000, in the case of natural persons, regional governors, municipality mayors, ward mayors, mayoralty mayors and officials, and by a pecuniary penalty of BGN 1,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 20,000, in the case of juristic persons and sole traders.
(2) The fine or pecuniary penalty under Paragraph (1) shall be imposed in a double for a repeated violation.
(3) Manifestly minor cases of violation committed by natural persons shall be punishable by a fine of BGN 100.
Article 163
(1) (Redesignated from Article 163, SG No. 77/2005) Any independent expert in environmental impact assessment, who violates Article 83 (3) herein, shall be liable to a fine of BGN 1,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 10,000, unless subject to a severe penalty.
(2) (New, SG No. 77/2005) Anyone who uses the marking of the National Eco-label Award Scheme for products of his, her or its own and for technical or advertising materials connected therewith without having the right to do so shall be liable to a fine or a pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, of BGN 1,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 5,000.
(3) (New, SG No. 77/2005) The fine or pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, shall be imposed in a double amount for a repeated violation.
Article 164
A pecuniary penalty of BGN 10,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 100,000 leva shall be imposed on any juristic-person or sole-trader operator of a site for any failure to comply with the requirements established by Article 125 herein.
Article 164a
(New, SG No. 77/2005)
Any operator of an installation, which or who fails to fulfil the requirements under Article 131h (1) herein, shall be liable to a pecuniary penalty of BGN 200 for each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent for which the said operator has not surrendered allowances.
Article 165
(1) Any official, who shall deny access to the site or area to a controlling authority conducting an on-site inspection, measurement or taking a sample, will be liable to a fine of BGN 2,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 20,000.
(2) A pecuniary penalty of BGN 2,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 20,000 shall be imposed on any juristic person or sole trader in the cases where any factory or office worker employed thereby shall commit a violation under Paragraph (1), irrespective of whether the controlling authority is in a position to establish the identity of any such factory or office worker.
Article 166
The sanctions provided for under Article 165 herein shall furthermore be imposed on any person who:
1. fails to submit the available self-monitoring data to the controlling authorities;
2. fails to comply with the conditions set in the permits and in the EIA decisions;
3. (amended, SG No. 77/2005) fails to implement the prescriptions given in the individual administrative acts and the memoranda of ascertainment under Article 155 herein as issued by the Minister of Environment and Water, the RIEWs directors, the basin directorate directors, the national park directors, or by officials authorized thereby.
Article 166a
(New, SG No. 77/2005)
(1) Any natural or legal person, who or which carries out an activity without holding a permit referred to in Article 104 (1) herein or without a decision modifying the permit referred to in Item 2 of Article 116e (1) herein, in the cases where such permit or decision is required, shall be liable to a fine or a pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, of BGN 30,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 100,000, unless subject to a severe penalty.
(2) Any natural or legal person, who or which fails to comply with the conditions provided for in a permit referred to in Article 104 (1) herein or in a decision referred to in Item 2 of Article 116e (1) herein, or who or which fails to fulfil the obligations referred to in Item 1 of Article 115 and Article 116h (1) herein, shall be liable to a fine, unless subject to a severe penalty, or to a pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, of BGN 10,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 20,000.
(3) Any natural or legal person, who or which fails to fulfil the obligations referred to in Article 116a (1) and (2) herein, shall be liable to a fine, unless subject to a severe penalty, or to a pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, of BGN 5,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 10,000.
(4) Any natural or legal person, who or which fails to comply with the time limits provided for in Article 108 (1), Article 116a (3) and (4), Item 1 of Article 116c (1) and Item 1 of Article 116c (2) herein, shall be liable to a fine or a pecuniary penalty, as the case may be, of BGN 2,000 or exceeding this amount but not exceeding BGN 5,000.
Article 167
(Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005)
The written statements whereby administrative violations under this Act are ascertained shall be drawn up by officials designated by the Minister of Environment and Water or by officials or, respectively, by the RIEW directors, the basin directorate directors or the national park directors.
Article 168
(Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005)
The penalty decrees under this Act shall be drawn up according to the procedure established by the Administrative Violations and Sanctions Act and shall be issued by the Minister of Environment and Water or by officials authorized thereby, by the RIEW directors, the basin directorate directors or the national park directors.
Article 169
(1) The written statements ascertaining administrative violations under this Act may furthermore be drawn up by representatives of any public and of non-governmental ecologist organizations designated by the Minister of Environment and Water.
(2) The penalty decrees under Paragraph (1) shall be issued by the Minister of Environment and Water or by officials authorized thereby.
Chapter Eleven
CIVIL LIABILITY
Article 170
(1) Any person, who shall culpably inflict environmental pollution or damage on another, will be obliged to indemnify the aggrieved party.
(2) In cases where assets constituting state property has been damaged, the party empowered to bring an action under Paragraph (1) shall be:
1. the Minister of Environment and Water, if the detriment extends over the territory of multiple administrative regions;
2. the competent Regional Governor, if the detriment extends over the territory of multiple municipalities.
(3) In cases where assets constituting municipal property has been damaged, the municipality mayor shall be empowered to bring the action under Paragraph (1).
Article 171
The aggrieved parties under Article 170 (1) and (2) herein may bring action against the offender for cessation of the violation and for elimination of the consequences of pollution occurred.
Article 172
The consequences caused by transboundary environmental pollution shall be eliminated in pursuance of an international treaty whereto the Republic of Bulgaria is a party.
SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
§ 1. Within the meaning of this Act:
1. "Environment" shall be a complex of natural and anthropogenic factors and media in a state of mutual dependence, which affect the ecological balance and the quality of life, human health, and cultural and historical heritage.
2. "Environmental protection" shall be a complex of activities intended to prevent degradation of the environment, the rehabilitation, conservation and improvement thereof.
3. "Natural resources" shall be the elements of biotic and abiotic nature used or useable by man to satisfy the needs thereof.
4. "Renewable resources" shall be the resources which naturally replenish themselves or which may be replenished in whole or in part by special activities and whose replenishability t rates comparable to the rates of the exploitation thereof is regarded as proven. All other resources shall be non renewable.
5. "Environmental pollution" shall be the change in environmental quality as a result of the occurrence and introduction of physical, chemical or biological factors from a natural or anthropogenic source inside or outside Bulgaria, irrespective of whether the effective national limit values are exceeded.
6. "Environmental damage" shall be any modification of one or several of the media comprising the environment which leads to deterioration of the quality of human life, reduction of biological diversity, or difficult restoration of natural ecosystems;
7. "Available primary information" shall be the information presenting the results of measurements, tests, observations and other such activities not accompanied by analyses, forecasts and explanations, which is collected within the scope of the obligations of the competent administration, without being expressly requested by a person concerned.
8. "Available pre-processed information" shall be the information which is processed, summarized and analyzed within the scope of the obligation of the competent administration, without being expressly requested by a person concerned.
9. "Expressly processed information" shall be the information collected or processed, summarized and analyzed at the request of a person concerned.
10. "Collection of information" shall be the actions of the competent administrations and of the obligated natural and juristic persons, whereby the facts constituting primary information are measured, ascertained and observed and whereby the information is processed.
11. "Reporting of information" shall be the act of delivery of the information by the obligated person to the competent administration or to the competent authority.
12. "Provision of information" shall be the act whereby the parties concerned are granted access to the available information.
13. "Landscape" shall be an area whereof the specific aspect and elements have emerged as a result of actions and interactions between natural and/or human factors.
14. "Soil" shall be the upper layer of the Earth's crust in so far as it is the exponent of soil functions, including liquid components (soil solution) and gaseous components (soil air), excluding ground water, river channels and bottoms of water basins;
15. "Soil functions" shall be:
a) basis for life and living space for human beings, animals, plants and soil organisms;
b) an element of the natural balance, especially with the hydrological and nutrient cycles thereof.
16. "Harmful soil modifications" shall be the disturbance of the soil functions causing significant harm and damage to the individual and to the community in general:
a) chemical pollution in excess of the maximum permissible quantities with heavy metals and metalloids, resistant organic pollutants, pesticides and oils, including salinization and acidification;
b) pollution with fresh fertilizer residues and concentrated mineral fertilizers, as well as with various types of waste;
c) physical degradation, such as water and wind erosion with the anthropogenic aspects thereof, water logging and swamping, consequences of burning of stubble and plant residue.
17. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Development proposal" shall be:
(a) the predesign (predevelopment) studies or the design terms of reference in connection with a request to authorize development-project designing for new construction, activity, technology or building of installations or schemes;
(b) other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape, including those involving the extraction of mineral resources.
18. "Impact" shall be any direct effect on the environment that may be caused by the implementation of a development proposal for construction, activity or technology, including the effect on human health and safety, flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate, landscape, historical monuments and other physical structures or the interaction among these factors.
19. "Transboundary impact" shall be any impact, not exclusively of a global nature, within an area under the jurisdiction of a country, caused by a proposed activity the physical origin whereof is situated wholly or in part within an area under the jurisdiction of another country.
20. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Initiator of a development proposal" shall be a public authority, a natural or a legal person, who or which, according to the procedure of a special law, a statutory instrument or administrative act, has rights to initiate a development proposal or to apply for approval of a development proposal.
21. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Initiator of a plan or programme" shall be the person or the authority who or which is authorized to commission the preparation of the said plan or programme.
22. "Plans and programmes" shall be plans, programmes, strategies and other similar documents, as well as the alterations thereof, which:
a) are required by statutory, regulatory or administrative provisions;
b) are subject to preparation and/or adoption by a public authority at national, regional or local level or are prepared by a competent authority for adoption according to a procedure approved by the Council of Ministers or the National Assembly.
23. "States concerned in a transboundary context" shall be the Party of origin of an environmental impact and the other Parties to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context affected by the said impact.
24. "Public" shall be one or more natural or juristic persons and the associations, organizations or groups thereof, established in accordance with national legislation.
25. (Supplemented, SG No. 77/2005) "The public concerned" shall be the public referred to in Item 24, which is affected or is likely to be affected by, or which has an interest in, the procedures for approval of plans, programmes, development proposals, and in the decision-making process on the issuance or updating of permits according to the procedure established by this Act, or in the conditions set in the permits, including the non-governmental organizations promoting environmental protection which are established in accordance with national legislation.
26. "Zero alternative" shall be the possibility not to implement the activity provided for in the development proposal.
27. "Non-technical summary" shall be a brief presentation of the information in the EIA statement in a language comprehensible to the general public of a length not less than 10 per cent of the length of the statement and containing the requisite visuals (maps, photographs, charts).
28. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Extension" shall be additional construction, activity, technology or building of installations or schemes within the area of a site which is in operation, under construction or in a process of clearance, which may lead to significant adverse effects on the environment.
29. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Installation" shall be a stationary technical unit within an establishment where dangerous substances and preparations are used, produced or stored. It shall include all the equipment: pipe work, machinery and tools serving the installation and necessary for the operation thereof.
29a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Storage of dangerous substances" shall be the warehousing or depositing in safe custody of dangerous substances in the establishment and/or the installation.
29b. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Domino effect" shall be the increase of the likelihood and the possibility or the consequences of a major accident at an establishment and/or installation or at a group of establishments and/or installations because of the geographical proximity to another establishment and/or installation or to a group of establishments and/or installations or consequent to the dangerous substances which are produced, used and/or stored within the area of the said establishment and/or installation.
29c. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Establishments serving the public" shall be:
(a) creches and kindergartens and specialized institutions providing social services to children and schoolchildren, schools and higher schools, pupil and student dormitories, music, language and sports schools, and centres for work with children;
(b) medical-treatment and health-care facilities, medical offices, occupational medicine services;
(c) sports grounds: stadiums and sports halls;
(d) theatres, cinemas, concert halls;
(e) railway stations, airports, ports, bus stations;
(d) office buildings and public buildings.
29d. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Measures necessary to prevent major accidents" shall be the technical, organizational and managerial measures necessary for the safe operation of the establishment and/or installation.
30. "Environmental impact assessment decision" shall be an individual administrative act of the competent authority covered under Article 94 herein whereby the admissibility of design of an development proposal under
Item 17 is approved by means of assessment of the location (building site, road bed) of the sites and of the expected environmental impact on the basis of an EIA statement, taking into account the public opinion and the observations expressed by the public concerned.
30a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Environmental nuisances" shall be the disturbance and inconvenience created by the environmental factors, determined according to studies in this field.
31. "Enterprise" shall be the whole area and the sites therein under the control of an operator, where dangerous chemical substances or preparations are present in one or more facilities, including common or related infrastructures or activities.
32. "Substance" shall be any chemical element or compound with the exception of the substances which are sources of ionizing radiation within the meaning of Item 15 of § 1 of the Safe Use of Nuclear Energy Act.
33. "Industrial pollution" shall be any direct or indirect entry, resulting from human activities, into the air, water or soil of substances, vibrations, heat radiation or noise that may have a certain adverse impact on human health or on the environment, cause damage to physical structures, limit or prevent the possibilities for use of the useful qualities of the environment and of its other legitimate uses.
34. "Installation" shall be:
a) each individual installation according to Annex 4 hereto, including the separate technological facilities in direct technical connection therewith and which may have an effect on the pollution, emissions and waste resulting from the operation of the installation;
b) any technological facility incorporating one or more installations according to Annex 4 hereto;
c) another installation or facility whereof the operator has submitted an application for the issuance of an integrated permit for operation of the said installation in compliance with the provisions of Chapter Seven herein.
The installations and facilities intended for research, development or exploration activities shall be excluded from this definition.
35. "Existing installation" shall be any installation that is commissioned or has received a favourable EIA decision in compliance with the effective legislation prior to the effective date of this Act, provided that the said installation is commissioned not later than one calendar year after the date of the said decision.
36. "Emission" shall be the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources within a specific installation into the air, water or soil.
37. "Emission limit value" shall be the mass, expressed in terms of certain specific parameters, concentration and/or level of an emission, which may not be exceeded during one or more pre-defined periods of time. Emission limit values may furthermore be established for certain groups, families or categories of substances.
38. "Environmental quality standards" shall be the requirements as established in the legislative acts regulating the environment which must be complied with at a given time by the environment or particular part thereof, such as standards of noxious substance content in the ambient air, standards of water quality in the water bodies, standards of the quality of the other environmental media, and standards of permissible values of the factors polluting or damaging the environment.
39. (Amended and supplemented, SG No. 77/2005) "Integrated permit" shall be an individual administrative act granting authorization to operate all or part of a specific facility, subject to certain conditions which guarantee that the said facility complies with the requirements of Chapter Seven herein. A permit may cover one or more facilities or parts of facilities on the same site, are operated by the same operator, and some of which may not fall within the scope of Annex 4 hereto.
40. "Change in operation of the installation" shall be any reconstruction involving change of the nature of the operation of the installation, the functioning thereof or extension of the said installation that may have a certain impact on the environment.
41. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Substantial change" shall be a change in operation of the facility which, in the opinion of the competent authority, may have significant negative effects on human health or on the environment. Any change to or increase of capacity shall be deemed to be substantial if the change of increase of capacity in itself meets the thresholds set out in Annex 4 hereto.
42. "Best available techniques" shall be the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for emission limit values designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, generally to reduce emissions and the impact on the environment as a whole:
a) "techniques" shall include both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned;
b) "available" shall be techniques developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced inside the relevant member state, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the operator;
(c) (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "best" techniques shall be the most effective techniques in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole.
43. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Operator" shall be any natural or legal person who or which owns an establishment, installation and/or facility or controls the operation thereof.
44. "Organization" shall be a company, association, enterprise, government authority or institution, a part or a combination thereof, incurring limited liability or enjoying another status at public or private law, which has a function and administrative structure in its own right. In respect of organizations with multiple functional units, each unit may be defined as a single organization.
45. "Environmental management system" shall be that part of the overall management system which includes the organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for elaboration, implementation, attainment, review and maintenance of environmental policy.
46. "Audit of the environmental management system" shall be systematic and documented process of inspection for objective obtaining and evaluation of evidence in order to determine whether the environmental management system of an organization complies with the auditing criteria as established by the said organization and to notify the management of the said organization of the results of this process.
47. "Affixation of lead seals" shall be the placing of a lead seal by the controlling authority for the purpose of restricting the access of persons to properties and facilities.
48. "Affixation of paper tapes" shall be the placing of a paper tape bearing the impression of an ink stamp by the controlling authority for the purpose of restricting the access of persons to properties and facilities.
49. "Environmental damage resulting from past act or omission" shall be old pollution of sites or building structures on industrial sites with hazardous substances and waste generated by industrial, agricultural, commercial or transport activity posing a hazard to human health or to the environment.
50. "Sustainable development" shall be development meeting the needs of the present without limiting or compromising the ability and capacity of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development shall combine the two main aspirations of society:
a) achievement of economic growth ensuring improving living standards;
b) present and future protection and improvement of the environment.
51. "Accident" shall be a sudden technological failure of machines, facilities and units involving stopping or serious disturbance of the technological process, explosions, occurrence of fire, excessive environmental pollution, destruction, casualties or hazard to human life and public health.
52. "Environmental monitoring" shall be the collection, evaluation and summarizing of environmental information by means of continuous or periodic observation of certain qualitative and quantitative indicators characterizing the state of the environmental media and the changes therein resulting from the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors.
53. "National Environmental Monitoring System" shall be a complex of measurement, analytical and information activities intended to provide timely and reliable information on the state of the environmental media and the factors impacting the said media, which is used for analyses, assessments and forecasts to justify activities to conserve and protect the environment and human health against harmful impacts.
53a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Substantial change to an establishment and/or installation" shall be:
(a) any changes or modifications in the operation of the establishment, planned by the operator, including the closure or modification of existing installations or the construction of new installations, which lead to new major-accident scenarios and necessitate changes in the documents submitted;
(b) any increase by more than 5 per cent in the quantity of each of the dangerous substances present at the establishment, the introduction of new dangerous substances in quantities exceeding 10 per cent of the qualifying quantities indicated in Table 1 and Table 3 of Annex 3 hereto;
(c) any changes in the statutory requirements for operational safety of the establishment and/or installation, requiring the use of other techniques;
(d) changes in the statutory framework regulating the environment.
54. (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) "Dangerous substance" shall be any substance, preparation or mixture specifically named in Table 1 of Annex 3 hereto, or classified in at least one of the danger categories indicated in Table 3 of Annex 3 hereto, and present as a raw material, product, by-product, residue or intermediate, including a substance which may be generated as a result of a side reaction or upon occurrence of a major accident.
54a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Major accident" shall be any accident involving dangerous substances listed in Table 1 of Annex 3 hereto or dangerous substances classified in at least one of the danger categories indicated in Table 3 of Annex 3 hereto and leading to death or injury of persons inside or outside the establishment and/or installation, damage to or contamination of the environmental media or substantial damage to property and physical infrastructure in the area around the establishment and/or installation, in accordance with the criteria under Annex 5 hereto.
54b. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Major-accident hazard" shall be any act or omission involving a dangerous substance listed in Table 1 of Annex 3 hereto or a dangerous substance classified in at least one of the categories indicated in Table 3 of Annex 3 hereto, which may injure human health and/or the environment.
55. "Integration of national environmental policy into sectoral policies" shall mean the reckoning with, and incorporation of, the environmental protection requirements into the process of development, application and enforcement of the sectoral policies as defined in Article 9 herein.
56. "Good agricultural practice" shall be the agricultural practice which is based on the principles of sustainable development.
57. "Areas placed under a special regime of protection" shall be areas where special protective measures are introduced for rare species of flora and fauna and for the habitats thereof.
58. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Allowance" shall be an allowance to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent during a specified period, which shall be valid only for the purposes of the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading.
59. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Greenhouse gases" shall be the six gases regulated by the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydro fluorocarbons (HCFs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
60. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent" shall be one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) or an amount of any other greenhouse gas with an equivalent global-warming potential.
61. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Emission reduction unit" shall equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, achieved as a result of a Joint Implementation project under Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol .
62. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Certified emission reduction" shall equal one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, achieved as a result of a Clean Development Mechanism project under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol .
63. (New, SG No. 77/2005) "Verification" shall be a process of independent audit and confirmation of the reliability, truthfulness and accuracy of the monitoring system and of the data and information reported in connection with greenhouse gas emissions.
64. (New, SG No. 99/2006) A "project activity" shall be considered to be an activity under a project in accordance with Article 6 (Joint Implementation) and Article 12 (Clean Development Mechanism) of the Kyoto Protocol.
§ 2. In cases where this Act requires notification or announcement and where no express rules or the application of expressly established procedure is provided for this, any such notification or announcement, as the case may be, shall follow the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure.
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
§ 3. The Environmental Protection Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 86 of 1991, amended in No. 90 of 991; No. 100 of 1992; Nos. 31 and 63 of 1995; Nos. 13, 85 and 86 of 1997; No. 62 of 1998; Nos. 2 and 67 of 1999; Nos. 26, 27 and 28 of 2000; Nos. 1 and 26 of 2001) is hereby superseded.
§ 4. The secondary legislative acts for the application of this Act shall be issued within six months after the entry of the said Act into force.
§ 5. Until the issuance of the respective new secondary legislative acts, the secondary legislative acts issued in pursuance of the Environmental Protection Act as superseded shall apply in so far as they do not conflict this Act.
§ 6. Until the adoption of legislative acts on the activities covered under Article 144 (1) herein, methodologies and instructions of the Minister of Environment and Water shall apply.
§ 7. Within six months after the entry of this Act into force, the operators of installations falling within the scope of activities listed in Annex 4 hereto shall be obliged to give notification in writing of this fact to the Ministry of Environment and Water.
§ 8. (Amended, SG No. 105/2005) Any delinquent fees, fines and sanctions under this Act, the Water Act, the Waste Management Act, the Medicinal Plants Act, the Protected Areas Act and the Clean Ambient Air Act shall be collected with interest on taxes, fees and other such state receivables according to the procedure established by the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code .
§ 9. (1) Upon privatization, with the exception of any privatization contracts concluded on or before the 1st day of February 1999 by non-resident and resident natural and juristic persons, the liability for damage caused to the environment and resulting from past acts or omissions, shall be incurred by the State under terms and according to a procedures established in an act of the Council of Ministers.
(2) The evaluation of the damage referred to in Paragraph (1) until the time of privatization shall be performed in accordance with methods endorsed by the Minister of Environment and Water.
§ 10. (1) Within one year after the entry of this Act into force, the municipality mayors shall elaborate the programmes referred to in Article 79 (1) herein.
(2) Item 1 of Article 81 (1), Article 81 (3), Article 82 (1) and (4), and Section II of Chapter Six herein shall enter into force on the 1st day of July 2004.
(3) Until the entry into force of the provisions specified in Paragraph (2), EIA of the national, functional-regional and administrative-regional development plans and programmes, the spatial-development plans and the modifications thereof shall be conducted according to a procedure established by a regulation of the Minister of Environment and Water.
§ 10a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) The classification of existing establishments and/or installations for safe disposal of liquid waste, tailings ponds or slime ponds containing dangerous substances, as well as the classification of existing establishments and/or installations whereof the activities are concerned with prospecting, exploration for, extraction and processing of subsurface resources by means of chemical or thermal treatment whereupon dangerous substances are used, shall be carried out not later than the 31st day of December 2006.
§ 11. (1) The requirement for issuance of an integrated permit under Chapter Seven herein shall apply to:
1. new and, in the event of change of production activities, existing installations and facilities: as from the 1st day of January 2003;
2. existing installations and facilities: during the period commencing on the 1st day of January 2003 and concluding on the 30th day of October 2007.
(2) (Amended, SG No. 77/2005) The deadline for compliance with the conditions set in the integrated permits as issued for existing installations shall be the 31st day of October 2007, with the exception of the cases in which another special law in the sphere of environmental protection or the Treaty concerning the Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union provides otherwise.
(3) (New, SG No. 77/2005) For separate units of a specific existing large combustion plant, the deadline for compliance with the conditions set in the integrated permits as issued may be extended until the 31st day of December 2014, where the said large combustion plant does not burn local lignite coal and, by a decision of the Minister of Economy and Energy or of an official authorized thereby, the said plant is obligated to compensate part or all of the production of the decommissioned nuclear capacities and where compliance with the deadline referred to in Paragraph (2) would lead to insurmountable difficulties for fulfilment of the production obligations of the said plant to maintain the national energy balance.
§ 11a. (New, SG No. 77/2005) Until the issuance of an integrated permit for the operation thereof under Chapter Seven herein, the relevant existing facilities and installations shall be subject to the condition set by the environmental impact assessment decisions issued according to the procedure established by the Environmental Protection Act as superseded (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 86 of 1991, corrected in No. 90 of 1991; amended in No. 100 of 1992, Nos. 31 and 63 of 1995, Nos. 13, 85 and 86 of 1997, No. 62 of 1998, Nos. 12 and 67 of 1999, Nos. 26, 27 and 28 of 2000, Nos. 1 and 26 of 2001; repealed in No. 91 of 2002).
§ 12. (Repealed, SG No. 86/2003, new, SG No. 99/2006) Article 131h, para. 8 and Article 131m, para 1 shall be applied until 31 December 2012.
§ 13. The Protection against the Harmful Impact of Chemical Substances, Preparations and Products Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 10 of 2000) shall be amended as follows:
1. Chapter Four shall be repealed.
2. Article 31 shall be repealed.
§ 14. (Effective 1. 01. 2003) The Clean Ambient Air Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 45 of 1996, amended in No. 49 of 1996; No. 85 of 1997; No. 27 of 2000; No. 102 of 2001) shall be amended as follows:
1. In Article 27:
a) in Paragraph (1), the words "the municipal authorities shall prepare and adopt" shall be replaced by "the municipality mayors shall elaborate, and the Municipal Councils shall adopt";
b) Paragraph (2) shall be amended to read as follows:
"(2) The programmes referred to in Paragraph (1) shall be an integral part of the municipal environmental programmes referred to in Article 79 of the Environmental Protection Act."
2. In the title of Chapter Six, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
3. In Paragraphs (1) and (3) of Article 31, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
4. In Paragraphs (1) and (3) of Article 32, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
5. In Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Article 33, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
6. In Article 44, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
7. Paragraph 4b shall be repealed.
§ 15. (Effective 1.01.2003) The Protected Areas Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 133 of 1998, amended in No. 98 of 1999; Nos. 28, 48 and 78 of 2000; No. 23 of 2002) shall be amended as follows:
1. In Article 74:
a) in Paragraph (1), the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
b) Paragraph (4) shall be amended to read as follows:
"(4) The resources covered under Paragraph (1) shall be expended according to the Rules of Operation of the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities."
2. In Article 86:
a) in Item 1 of Paragraph (2), the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities";
b) in Paragraph (4), the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
§ 16. (Effective 1.01.2003) Paragraph (1) of Article 25 of the Medicinal Plants Act amended in No. 23 of 2002) shall be amended as follows:
1. In Item 2, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
2. In Item 3, the words "the respective Municipal Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "the respective municipal budget".
§ 17. (Effective 1.01.2003) The Water Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 67 of 1999, amended in No. 81 of 2000; Nos. 34, 41 and 108 of 2001; No. 47 of 2002) shall be amended as follows:
1. In Article 196:
a) the words "shall be credited to a special analytical subaccount of the National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "shall be credited to the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities shall be";
b) Item 6 shall be repealed.
2. In Article 197:
a) in Paragraph (1), the words "The resources on the analytical subaccount shall be disbursed on" shall be replaced by "The resources covered under Article 196 herein shall be expended on";
b) Paragraph (2) shall be amended to read as follows:
"(2) The resources covered under Article 196 herein shall be expended in accordance with the Rules of Operation of the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities. "
3. In Paragraph (4) of Article 199, the words "National Environmental Protection Fund" shall be replaced by "Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities".
§ 18. (1) The provisions of Articles 60 to 64, Items 1 and 4 of § 12, and § 14 to 17 incl. herein shall enter into force on the 1st day of January 2003.
(2) Until the entry into force of the provisions referred to in Paragraph (1), the activity of the National Environmental Protection Fund shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of § 9 and Annex 7 to § 9 of the 2002 National Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria Act.
Waste Management Act
Promulgated, SG No. 86/2003
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
§ 13. The Environmental Protection Act (promulgated in the State Gazette No. 91 of 2002; corrected in No. 98 of 2002) shall be amended as follows:
1. The words "the Limitation of the Harmful Impact of Waste on the Environment Act" shall be replaced passim by "the Waste Management Act".
This Act was passed by the 39th National Assembly on July 23, 2002 and September 19, 2002, and the Official Seal of the National Assembly has been affixed thereto.
Act to Amend and Supplement the Environmental Protection Act
(Promulgated, SG No. 77/2005) .............................................................................
SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION
§ 103. Throughout the Act, the words "alteration" and "the alteration" shall be replaced, respectively, by "modification" and "the modification", and the words "project client" and "the project client" shall be replaced, respectively, by "initiator" and "the initiator".
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
§ 104. The first National Allocation Plan for Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading, referred to in Article 77a (1) (of the Environmental Protection Act), shall be one-year and shall cover the period commencing on the 1st day of January 2007 and concluding on the 1st day of January 2008.
§ 105. Emission reduction units and certified emission reductions shall be used in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading as from the 1st day of January 2008.
§ 106. (1) The Minister of Environment and Water shall be the competent authority on the part of the Republic of Bulgaria responsible for the implementation of the Environment 2007-2013 Operational Programme, co-financed by the Cohesion Fund and the Structural Funds of the EU.
(2) The Minister of Environment and Water may assign fulfilment of specific tasks in connection with the responsibilities referred to in Paragraph (1) to intermediate units.
(3) The intermediate units under the Environment 2007-2013 Operational Programme shall be established by a decision of the Council of Ministers on a motion by the Minister of Environment and Water.
§ 107. The pecuniary penalty referred to in Article 164a (of the Environmental Protection Act) shall amount to BGN 80 for the period commencing on the 1st day of January 2007 and concluding on the 1st day of January 2008.
§ 108. The Council of Ministers shall adopt the ordinances covered under Article 131k (of the Environmental Protection Act) within one year after the entry of this Act into force.
§ 109. The fees, fines and penalties due at the time of entry of this Act into force under this Act, the Water Act, the Waste Management Act, the Medicinal Plants Act, the Protected Areas Act, the Clean Ambient Air Act and the Protection against the Harmful Impact of Chemical Substances, Preparations and Products Act shall be collected according to the procedure established by Article 72a (of the Environmental Protection Act).
§ 110. As from the date of entry into force of this Act, temporary standards, within the meaning given by Articles 10 and 10a of the Clean Ambient Air Act, may not be endorsed for existing facilities and installations for which an integrated permit is required.
Act to Amend and Supplement the Environmental Protection Act
(Promulgated, SG No. 65/2006)
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