Okno Group - Environmental policy briefs

Bulgaria: Selected environmental policy briefs

Reprinted from Environment & Health Online

Baltic States

Bulgaria

Czech Rep.

Hungary

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

Fmr. Yugoslavia

Central/East European Region

Former Soviet region

Belarus

Caucasus

Central Asia

Moldova

Russia

Ukraine

The policy briefs reprinted in these pages are drawn from past issues of Okno Group's E&H Online Environment Report. The briefs have been selected for broader interest and appear here with a delay after original publication.

August 1998

Bulgaria clarifies environmental liability

Under amendments to Bulgaria's privatization laws approved by the government on 10 August, the Bulgarian state assumes responsibility for past environmental problems at privatized enterprises. The original text of the law held that the buyer of a former state firm was not under any obligation to remedy past environmental damage, but it did not specify who did have responsibility. While the changes are expected to encourage privatization of existing industrial firms now that the liability issue has been clarified, the Bulgarian state's ability to fund remediation projects remains uncertain. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

Moldova agrees to allow transit of Bulgarian nuclear waste

On 12 August, the Moldovan parliament ratified an agreement with Bulgaria to allow a train carrying spent fuel from the Kozloduy nuclear power plant to cross Moldovan territory on its way to Russia where the spent fuel rods will be recycled. The issue split the center-right Moldovan cabinet, and government leaders were only able to push the agreement through with the assistance of left-wing opposition deputies. Environmentalists and conservatives opposed allowing transit of the fuel because they fear the environmental consequences of an accident. Officials argued that the pile-up of spent fuel near Bulgaria's border with Moldova, which has continued since 1991, is more dangerous to Moldova; they also claimed that without this shipment to relieve the pressure, the Bulgarian plant might have to shut down before winter. Deputies from the Communist opposition were willing to support the government proposal in order to foil conservative opposition which they viewed as coming at the behest of Romania. The government has promised expert supervision of the train, but environmentalists and conservatives vowed to block the train. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

The Bulgarian government and World Bank representatives signed an agreement on 24 July for a $16 million loan for pollution remediation at the Pirdop copper smelter (now owned by Union Miniere of France). The funds will be used for cleanup as well as constructing new waste-handling facilities. The Bank and the Bulgarian government are also negotiating on a further $120 million in loans for similar cleanup projects at several other large enterprises, according to Environment Minister Evdokiya Maneva. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

July 1998

Bulgarian officials empowered to shut polluting enterprises

Bulgarian Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva announced on 14 July that the regional heads of the nation's environmental inspectorate will have the authority to close down heavy polluters. Ms. Maneva gave the fifteen regional officials special keys and metal seals, made by the country's mint, that would be used to legally close industrial operations. Until now, environmental regulators have only been able to fine companies that pollute; according to ministry data, the most heavily fined firm is Union Miniere (France), owner of the large Pirdop copper smelting plant, which pays 250 million leva ($141,000) per month for air pollution and a further 20 million leva a month for water pollution. Ministry officials said that exceptions would be made for the largest industrial plants, where only individual production lines would be closed. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

June 1998

Bulgaria's parliament adopted amendments to the country's Environmental Protection Act on 21 May that reduces tax burdens on environmental goods and services. Products and services from abroad which are used in programs to control pollution and public health threats are now exempted from VAT, excise taxes and customs duties. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

May 1998

Bulgaria assesses environment

The Bulgarian government approved its annual report on the environment, for 1996, on 4 May. The report identified the transport and energy sectors as the largest polluters that year; Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva said that the government expects pollution to fall in the next several years as more enterprises are privatized. The report says that 4,000 metric tons of household waste were produced nationwide in 1996, along with 32,000 tons of industrial waste and 1,700 tons of hazardous waste. In a separate interview with the Bulgarian press, Ms. Maneva said that Bulgaria's current economic troubles did not mean environmental protection should be put on hold. Rather, she said, the government intends to have enterprises cut pollution as part of the privatization and restructuring process. Ms. Maneva also said that the government has put a priority on harmonizing its environmental laws and enforcement methods with those of the EU, including the use of pollution taxes. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

The European Union will finance energy efficiency projects in Bulgaria under the auspices of a regional energy technology promotion organization, FEMOPET. In addition to providing technology information and financing to small- and medium-sized businesses, FEMOPET will design efficient power stations which use a variety of fuels. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

The Bulgarian and Polish governments agreed in late April to a multi-year program to share environmental information, particularly on efforts to harmonize domestic law to EU standards. Bulgarian Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva said Poland's experience as an applicant for EU membership would be particularly helpful. In early May, the Bulgarian and Russian governments also signed an agreement on environmental cooperation, including sharing strategies to meet EU environmental standards and other international agreements. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

As part of its program to phase out leaded gasoline, the Bulgarian government announced that excise taxes on unleaded gas would be cut in half, to 60%, in the second half of this year. The excise tax cut was promised as part of a wider program to force refineries to shift to making unleaded fuel and get autos which require leaded gas off the roads (see print E&H, Mar/Apr 1998, p.8). Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

April 1998

The Bulgarian and Dutch governments signed an agreement on environmental cooperation on 1 April; the agreement outlines potential collaboration on greenhouse gas emission reductions, solid waste management and water treatment. Dutch Environment Minister Margreet de Boer has also held recent talks with the Romanian and Czech governments about projects that would generate greenhouse gas reduction credits. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

The Bulgarian government approved on 2 April a new draft law on subsoil resources. The law sets out procedures for issuing permits for prospectors, and for the negotiation of concessions if valuable materials are found. The bill is expected to trigger a wave of prospecting, as several mining companies have expressed interest in Bulgarian gold deposits. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

March 1998

The Bulgarian government approved a new bill on "protected areas" that reduces the number of national parks from twelve to three. The law allows private land ownership in the protected areas formerly owned by the state, but landowners will pay "nature fees" varying by the type of property. Unlicensed construction will also be subject to fines even on the private land. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

January 1998

Bulgaria to return forest land to former owners

Bulgarian parliamentarians approved legislation in November that will return forests nationalized during the communist era to their former Bulgarian owners. Foreigners, however, are excluded from the measure. Under the legislation, between 15% and 18% of forests now belonging to the state will be privatized. Towns, churches, monasteries and mosques which had formerly owned forest land will be able to apply to have it returned. Those whose forests were destroyed will be compensated. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

Poland, Bulgaria sign environment cooperation agreement

Poland and Bulgaria signed an agreement on environmental cooperation at the end of November. Bulgaria is primarily interested in learning more about Poland's methods of financing environmental ventures through the National Ecofund and EU-related environmental practices. The agreement provides for joint efforts in environmental education, environmentally friendly technologies, waste utilization, biological preservation, and financing. Implementation of the agreement will be supervised by the Joint Polish-Bulgarian Environmental Committee comprising four representatives from each country. The agreement is a follow-up to one signed in September by ten central and east European states pledging to establish closer cooperation on environmental protection (see print E&H, Sept/Oct 1997, p.1). Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

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Baltic States	Bulgaria	Czech Rep.	Hungary	Poland	Romania
Slovakia	Fmr. Yugoslavia	Central/East European Region		Former Soviet region
Belarus	Caucasus	Central Asia	Moldova	Russia	Ukraine


August 1998	Bulgaria clarifies environmental liability Under amendments to Bulgaria's privatization laws approved by the government on 10 August, the Bulgarian state assumes responsibility for past environmental problems at privatized enterprises. The original text of the law held that the buyer of a former state firm was not under any obligation to remedy past environmental damage, but it did not specify who did have responsibility. While the changes are expected to encourage privatization of existing industrial firms now that the liability issue has been clarified, the Bulgarian state's ability to fund remediation projects remains uncertain. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. Moldova agrees to allow transit of Bulgarian nuclear waste On 12 August, the Moldovan parliament ratified an agreement with Bulgaria to allow a train carrying spent fuel from the Kozloduy nuclear power plant to cross Moldovan territory on its way to Russia where the spent fuel rods will be recycled. The issue split the center-right Moldovan cabinet, and government leaders were only able to push the agreement through with the assistance of left-wing opposition deputies. Environmentalists and conservatives opposed allowing transit of the fuel because they fear the environmental consequences of an accident. Officials argued that the pile-up of spent fuel near Bulgaria's border with Moldova, which has continued since 1991, is more dangerous to Moldova; they also claimed that without this shipment to relieve the pressure, the Bulgarian plant might have to shut down before winter. Deputies from the Communist opposition were willing to support the government proposal in order to foil conservative opposition which they viewed as coming at the behest of Romania. The government has promised expert supervision of the train, but environmentalists and conservatives vowed to block the train. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. The Bulgarian government and World Bank representatives signed an agreement on 24 July for a $16 million loan for pollution remediation at the Pirdop copper smelter (now owned by Union Miniere of France). The funds will be used for cleanup as well as constructing new waste-handling facilities. The Bank and the Bulgarian government are also negotiating on a further $120 million in loans for similar cleanup projects at several other large enterprises, according to Environment Minister Evdokiya Maneva. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

July 1998	Bulgarian officials empowered to shut polluting enterprises Bulgarian Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva announced on 14 July that the regional heads of the nation's environmental inspectorate will have the authority to close down heavy polluters. Ms. Maneva gave the fifteen regional officials special keys and metal seals, made by the country's mint, that would be used to legally close industrial operations. Until now, environmental regulators have only been able to fine companies that pollute; according to ministry data, the most heavily fined firm is Union Miniere (France), owner of the large Pirdop copper smelting plant, which pays 250 million leva ($141,000) per month for air pollution and a further 20 million leva a month for water pollution. Ministry officials said that exceptions would be made for the largest industrial plants, where only individual production lines would be closed. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

June 1998	Bulgaria's parliament adopted amendments to the country's Environmental Protection Act on 21 May that reduces tax burdens on environmental goods and services. Products and services from abroad which are used in programs to control pollution and public health threats are now exempted from VAT, excise taxes and customs duties. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

May 1998	Bulgaria assesses environment The Bulgarian government approved its annual report on the environment, for 1996, on 4 May. The report identified the transport and energy sectors as the largest polluters that year; Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva said that the government expects pollution to fall in the next several years as more enterprises are privatized. The report says that 4,000 metric tons of household waste were produced nationwide in 1996, along with 32,000 tons of industrial waste and 1,700 tons of hazardous waste. In a separate interview with the Bulgarian press, Ms. Maneva said that Bulgaria's current economic troubles did not mean environmental protection should be put on hold. Rather, she said, the government intends to have enterprises cut pollution as part of the privatization and restructuring process. Ms. Maneva also said that the government has put a priority on harmonizing its environmental laws and enforcement methods with those of the EU, including the use of pollution taxes. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. The European Union will finance energy efficiency projects in Bulgaria under the auspices of a regional energy technology promotion organization, FEMOPET. In addition to providing technology information and financing to small- and medium-sized businesses, FEMOPET will design efficient power stations which use a variety of fuels. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. The Bulgarian and Polish governments agreed in late April to a multi-year program to share environmental information, particularly on efforts to harmonize domestic law to EU standards. Bulgarian Environment Minister Evdokia Maneva said Poland's experience as an applicant for EU membership would be particularly helpful. In early May, the Bulgarian and Russian governments also signed an agreement on environmental cooperation, including sharing strategies to meet EU environmental standards and other international agreements. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. As part of its program to phase out leaded gasoline, the Bulgarian government announced that excise taxes on unleaded gas would be cut in half, to 60%, in the second half of this year. The excise tax cut was promised as part of a wider program to force refineries to shift to making unleaded fuel and get autos which require leaded gas off the roads (see print E&H, Mar/Apr 1998, p.8). Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

April 1998	The Bulgarian and Dutch governments signed an agreement on environmental cooperation on 1 April; the agreement outlines potential collaboration on greenhouse gas emission reductions, solid waste management and water treatment. Dutch Environment Minister Margreet de Boer has also held recent talks with the Romanian and Czech governments about projects that would generate greenhouse gas reduction credits. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. The Bulgarian government approved on 2 April a new draft law on subsoil resources. The law sets out procedures for issuing permits for prospectors, and for the negotiation of concessions if valuable materials are found. The bill is expected to trigger a wave of prospecting, as several mining companies have expressed interest in Bulgarian gold deposits. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

March 1998	The Bulgarian government approved a new bill on "protected areas" that reduces the number of national parks from twelve to three. The law allows private land ownership in the protected areas formerly owned by the state, but landowners will pay "nature fees" varying by the type of property. Unlicensed construction will also be subject to fines even on the private land. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.

January 1998	Bulgaria to return forest land to former owners Bulgarian parliamentarians approved legislation in November that will return forests nationalized during the communist era to their former Bulgarian owners. Foreigners, however, are excluded from the measure. Under the legislation, between 15% and 18% of forests now belonging to the state will be privatized. Towns, churches, monasteries and mosques which had formerly owned forest land will be able to apply to have it returned. Those whose forests were destroyed will be compensated. Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group. Poland, Bulgaria sign environment cooperation agreement Poland and Bulgaria signed an agreement on environmental cooperation at the end of November. Bulgaria is primarily interested in learning more about Poland's methods of financing environmental ventures through the National Ecofund and EU-related environmental practices. The agreement provides for joint efforts in environmental education, environmentally friendly technologies, waste utilization, biological preservation, and financing. Implementation of the agreement will be supervised by the Joint Polish-Bulgarian Environmental Committee comprising four representatives from each country. The agreement is a follow-up to one signed in September by ten central and east European states pledging to establish closer cooperation on environmental protection (see print E&H, Sept/Oct 1997, p.1). Copyright ©1998 by Okno Group.