Bulgaria. Drafted as of 2005/04/12

Transcription

1 Needs Assessment Report for the Component 3.4 of the Danube Regional Project Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making Bulgaria Drafted as of 2005/04/12 ABBREVIATIONS USED Aarhus Convention - AC Access to Public Information Act APIA Council of Ministers - CM Environmental Data Resources Catalogue EDRC Executive Environmental Agency - EXEA Environmental Impact Assessment - EIA Environmental Protection Law - EPL Ministry for Agriculture and Forests - MAF Minister for Environment and Water MEW Ministry for Health - MH Ministry for Regional Development and Planning - MRDP National Environmental Monitoring System - NEMS National Strategy for Governance and Development of the Water Sector in Bulgaria - NSGDWSB National Water Monitoring System - NWMS Protection of Classified Information Act - PCIA Protection of Personal Data Act - PPDA Regulation for Implementation of the PCIA - RIPCIA Regional Governor - RG Regional Inspectorates for Protection and Control of Human Health - RIPCHH Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIEW) River Basin Directorates - RBD Small water driven electricity production facilities - SWDEPF. Water Act - WA Water Framework Directive WFD Note: the abbreviation NSMGWSB means National Strategy for Management and Development of the Water Sector in Bulgaria. The same document is identified with the abbreviation NSGDWSB. Table of content 4 1. GENERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED Constitutional rights to information Error! Bookmark not defined.

2 Environmental framework and other laws relevant to environmental and water-related information. Error! Bookmark not defined Access to monitoring information gathered by the State. Error! Bookmark not defined Access to information within the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and licensing/permitting procedure Error! Bookmark not defined Other laws and regulations Implementation of the AC regarding public access to environmental information and active dissemination of information. 8 2.Specific law or regulations related to water Error! Bookmark not defined Status of legislation concerning waters including harmonization/transposition with the EU directives on water with special regard to WFD. Error! Bookmark not defined Planned developments in developing and implementing legislation regarding water. Error! Bookmark not defined Requirements for collection of environmental and water related information. Error! Bookmark not defined Institutions collecting and providing environmental and water related information. Error! Bookmark not defined Environmental monitoring and reporting requirements including water. Error! Bookmark not defined Information on permit applications and reporting required by permits Error! Bookmark not defined.7 3. PROCEDURAL RULES FOR GATHERING AND ACCESSING WATER-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED Definition of environmental information. Data or information Duties of public authorities Procedures for access to/provision of information. Legal requirements regarding collection and dissemination of information Timeframe providing access to information Error! Bookmark not defined Grounds for refusal of access to information Error! Bookmark not defined Confidentiality of information Error! Bookmark not defined Access to administrative appeal procedure Error! Bookmark not defined Ombudsman Charges for supplying the information Error! Bookmark not defined Accessibility of information concerning pollution caused by private persons Error! Bookmark not defined. II. STATUS OF ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS ON PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY AND COLLECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RELATED INFORMATION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1.1.General findings implementing regulations and procedures regarding access to general environmental and water related information in practice Error! Bookmark not defined The types of information to be made accessible and /or available by law and how this is being implemented Error! Bookmark not defined.7

3 1.2. Administrative enforcement Error! Bookmark not defined Public accessibility of databases concerning waters Error! Bookmark not defined.8 III. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR PROVISION OF ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER-RELATED INFORMATION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.8 PLEASE EVALUATE THE ISSUES BELOW FOR NATIONAL, REGIONAL/RIVER BASIN AND LOCAL LEVELS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.8 1. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND COOPERATION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED Institutions dealing with collecting, processing and disseminating of environmental and water-related information Error! Bookmark not defined Relationship (Cooperation/coordination) among different agencies and bodies having responsibility for collection and dissemination of environmental and water-related information Error! Bookmark not defined Personnel, infrastructure and budget for providing access to environmental and water related information Error! Bookmark not defined Database linkages for environmental and water related information 30 (Domestic databases accessible on internet) STATUS OF PROVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER-RELATED INFORMATION UPON REQUEST Practical experiences with provision of information, Implementation of procedures, guidance documents, Number and types of requests received by agencies STATUS OF ACTIVE DISSEMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER- RELATED INFORMATION Methods of active dissemination of environmental and water-related information; What tools are used for dissemination of information; Information is made available on websites, publicly accessible databases, registers Emergency notification 32 IV. LEGAL AND PRACTICAL BARRIERS TO PROVIDING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER-RELATED INFORMATION Confidentiality, secrets, including business secret 32 (Concerns of government officials, NGOs and other stakeholders) Analysis of the laws/regulations governing confidentiality and their effects. State secret and other ground for refusal of access 33

4 1.3 Technical and other barriers to providing access to information Practical experiences 34 V. PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION GATHERED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE DANUBE RIVER PROTECTION, INFORMATION HELD BY COUNTRIES AND ICPDR, AND OTHER PROGRAMS RELEVANT TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER- RELATED INFORMATION ON DISCHARGES INTO THE DANUBE ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.4 VI. PROBLEMS AND GAPS IDENTIFIED WITH RESPECT TO ALL OF POINTS (1-5) ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.4 INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.6 VII. PRIORITY ISSUES PROPOSED TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE PROJECT COMPONENT ACTIVITIES ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.7 VIII. LIMITATIONS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT ITSELF - INFORMATION WHICH WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN AND REASONS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. IX. NOTES AND REFERENCES ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.9 1. Status of laws/regulations on public access to environmental and water related information. 1. General laws and regulations 1.1. Constitutional rights to information. The Bulgarian Constitution (1991) proclaims the right to information. Art. 41, paragraph 2 of the Constitution says: Citizens shall be entitled to obtain information from State bodies and agencies on any matter of legitimate interest to them which is not a State or official secret and does not affect the rights of others In Bulgaria Constitutional rights are not directly enforceable. Constitutional rights give but the framework which should be further developed by laws. This was also the case with the access to information provision. Prior to the adoption of the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) in 2000, there existed a Constitutional right for access to public information but due to the lack of legal provisions for access to public information, authorities refrained to submit information to citizens Environmental framework and other laws relevant to environmental and waterrelated information.

5 In Bulgaria there is a framework law on environmental protection the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) - which was adopted in The framework EPL contains provisions for some horizontal i matters including access to environmental information. Besides the EPL, there are several specific laws which regulate the management of different sectors of the environment such as: atmospheric air, water, soil protection, etc. There are also specific laws for the regulation of specific activities e.g. activities related to waste management, to the management of chemicals, etc. The EPL s chapter 2, articles is entirely dedicated to access to environmental information. It transposes most of the Aarhus Convention s (AC) provisions for access to environmental information. However, it does not correspond to the provisions of the recently adopted new EU directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. The Water Act (1999) is a specific act for regulating the use of water as a resource. It was drafted during the time when Bulgaria was preparing its accession to the EU. The first step to accession was complete transposition of European Union directives into internal legislation and to begin preparation for the implementation of all EU legislation (its regulations included). At the time when the WA was drafted, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) had not been yet adopted, but a draft was available. The WA does not contain specific rules for passive access to environmental information these rules are to be found within the framework of the EPL. Instead the WA contains many provisions for how the State collects and manages water related information. The WA could not transpose all provisions of the EU directives. That is why the WA provides for the possibility that the Government will issue regulations. The content of these regulations is determined by the respective matter regulated in a directive and very often the content of the regulation symmetrically mirrors the content of the directive. That is the reason why in several of these regulations there are also provisions for access to information. Speaking on the subject of horizontal matters access to environmental information and environmental impact assessment (EIA) the role and place of the AC has to be clarified. The Bulgarian Constitution provides for international treaties which are ratified and later published in the State Gazette (SG) become part of internal legislation. The rules of such a treaty take precedence over internal laws in cases of contradiction between the rule of an international treaty and the corresponding internal law art.5, paragraph 4 of the Constitution. The Bulgarian legal system does not provide for a procedure for clarifying the eventual contradictions between the existing internal legislation and the international treaty which should be ratified by the Parliament, before the act of ratification. This is why, after the AC was published in the SG No 33/2004, the executive powers and the courts in cases of appeal, will have to interpret and to implement both the AC and the respective provisions of the EPL ii Access to monitoring information gathered by the State. Monitoring information gathered by the State consists of two parts monitoring information gathered by State authorities and monitoring information collected by private bodies self-monitoring information. i horizontal means relevant for all sectors of the environment or overarching. Usually matters like access to information and EIA are deemed to be horizontal in environmental law. ii See attachement 1 Explanatory notes, note 2

6 Passive access to both parts of monitoring information is subject to the same rules. For access to the information gathered by State authorities, there are some additional rules, the aim of which is to insure a certain level of awareness of the public about the state of the environment. The tools for assuring access to the monitoring information collected by the State are as follows: A) Yearly State of the Environment Report (Green Book), adopted by the Council of Ministers (CM) on proposal by the Minister of Environment and Water (MOEW). The report is discussed by the Parliament art.22 of the EPL. It is accessible on the Internet at: B) Quarterly Bulletin on the State of the Environment in Bulgaria: C) Annual Bulletin on the State of Environment in Bulgaria: D) Information on river water quality can be found at the following web address: E) There are several registers with monitoring data: a) a public register with data related to the EIA procedure art.102 of EPL. Among others this register contains data obtained during administrative control on how the administrative EIA decision is implemented; b) a public register provided by art.129 EPL, which contains data on the results of the issuance of the integrated prevention and pollution control (IPPC) permit; Access to information within the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and licensing/permitting procedure Both procedures for issuing the EIA permit iii (chapter 6 of the EPL) and for issuing the water use permit (chapter 5 of the WA) offer wide public participation. Therefore, the access to information within these procedures might be of great importance. In the WA, an interesting provision for the right to passive access to environmental information exists art.65, paragraph 1 of the WA. The procedure for issuing the water use permit begins by an application. This application is published iv and later, anyone who is interested v to obtain the same water use permit or generally interested in the matter can object to the application. Art.65, paragraph 1 of the WA says that interested persons may iii In Bulgaria the EIA is a procedure for issuing a permit. The Bulgarian EIA procedure copies the requirements of EU directive 85/337/EC and almost all provisions of art.6 of the AC. The WA says that if an investment proposal needs both EIA permit and water use permit, the water use permit is issued within the EIA procedure i.e. there is no need for a separate procedure under the WA. In this case the EIA permit should contain all necessary provisions and conditions, prescribed by the WA. iv In case the authority, entitled to issue the permit is the RBD the application is displayed by the municipal administration in the places where usually the municipal administration displays its decisions (this is a bulletin board placed at the entrance of the municipal council s offices). In case the permit is issued by the MOEW, the application is published in the State Gazette v There is no jurisprudence about what interested in this context means. My assumption is that the interest will be assessed according to the general understanding of interest and the concrete facts. There are two things which should be mentioned. First, the publication at the place where municipal announcements are made is inefficient because few people visit that place and keep a sharp eye on what is announced. Second, incontestably the AC will be applied for access to this data. My understanding of this issue goes even further I assume that those who are interested can ask access to all data from the application notwithstanding objections about confidentiality.

7 look at all applications and objections submitted. Along with this specific provision that gives rights to the interested persons in the procedure for issuance of water permit, anyone may have access to water related environmental information (and to any environmental or public information) on the basis of the AC and the EPL. In the EIA procedure citizens again have right to access to environmental information related to the EIA. This right is still based on the AC and the EPL. There is also an interesting provision (art.27 of the EPL). This article provides for an administrative review of the refusals for access to information if the requested information is needed for the preparation of the defense of those who take part in any of the procedures, provided for in the EPL or in another law vi. This why a possible conclusion is that art.27 of the EPL partly assures the correct implementation of art.9, paragraph 1 of the AC the requirement for a quick, and inexpensive administrative review of the refusals for access to environmental information vii Other laws and regulations Besides the AC, the EPL and the APIA, there are several other laws and regulations that govern the access to information and namely the protection of certain types of information. Such laws and regulations are: - the Protection of Classified Information Act (PCIA) - the Regulation for Implementation of the PCIA (RIPCIA) - the Protection of Personal Data Act (PPDA) The Constitutional Court (CC) also has a decision on access to information matters decision No 7/1996 for interpretation of art.39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution. The PCIA and the RIPCIA govern the limitations for access to information under art.4, paragraph 4, a and b of the AC. The PPDA governs the limitation provided by art.4, paragraph 4, f of the AC. The Constitutional Court s decision is interesting because it clearly states the doctrine of the need for legal regulation of the constitutional text of art.41 of the Constitution (see above in section I.1.1.). vi The provision of art.27 is half clear, half absolutely unclear. It is sure that it refers to the general Administrative Procedure Act APA for access to information cases. This means that the public can appeal the refusal for access to information to the higher administrative authority. It is also known which procedures are provided by the EPL. These are the EIA, the Strategic Environmental Assessment, the IPPC procedures and a procedure for issuing a permit in case a facility handling hazardous substances where a major industrial accident might occur. The public can participate in all of these procedures. The forms and meaning of the public participation differs from procedure to procedure, but if the public needs access to information for the needs of participation, the administrative appeal provided by the APA is at the public s disposal. It is absolutely unclear what procedures, provided in another law means. One interpretation might be that the law means procedures (for environmental protection) provided in another law. Another interpretation might be procedures provided in another law (where decisions are issued by authorities subordinated to the Minister for Environment and Water or by the Minister himself/herself). vii Art.27 of the EPL is the only opportunity for the public to use the administrative appeal ability in cases where access to environmental information is refused. Out of context of art.27 of the EPL, administrative appeal is not provided by the general law for access to public information and the appeal should be addressed directly to the court. In this respect, Bulgarian law does not conform to art.9, paragraph 1 of the AC. Art.27 of the EPL, which is the only provision which partially assures implementation of art.9, paragraph 1. The opportunity provided by art.27 of the EPL is open to those who take part in any of the abovementioned procedures.

8 The concrete place of the other laws and regulations will be described in the next paragraph I.1.4. of the present Needs Assessment Implementation of the EU directives on access to environmental information and active dissemination of information, relevant provisions of the WFD and other relevant directives. As already mentioned the EPL was drafted at a time when the repealed EU directive on access to environmental information 90/313/EC was still in force. This is the reason why present Bulgarian internal legislation is not in conformity with the new EU directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. However we should stress that the entering into force of the AC in Bulgaria means that most of the requirements of the new EU directive are already transposed into the national legislation. The final conclusion would be that non- conformity with the new EU directive 2003/4/EC exists regarding those texts of the new EU directive which are drafted as a clarification or further development of some provisions of the AC (e.g.art.2, paragraph 1, d and f of the AC, art.2, paragraph 4 of the AC, etc.). The Government plans to transpose the new EU directive 2003/4/EC into the national legislation in the coming years, but not later than January 1 st On January 1 st 2007, which is the negotiated date of accession to the EU, the Bulgarian administration is expected to implement all EU legislation Implementation of the AC regarding public access to environmental information and active dissemination of information viii. With respect to active dissemination of information (art.5 of the AC) it would be true to state that Bulgaria meets the standard of the AC. Art.5, paragraph 1, a of the AC is correctly implemented in general and in the water sector in particular. The Convention does not give much guidance on how to implement the requirement of art.5, paragraph 1, a of the AC 1. The facts that there exists systems for record keeping and reporting for operators (art.174 of the WA) and that a National Water Monitoring System (NWMS) has been created and functions (art.170 of WA) are illustrative of the governmental efforts for complying with art.5, paragraph 1, a of the AC. Art.5, paragraph 1, b is also correctly implemented. The public authorities monitor emissions and environmental quality. A brief overview of the data collected within the NWMS permits us to conclude that all necessary water environmental features are monitored both by public authorities and operators. There are no reported cases of neglect from the operator s side of their obligation to keep records of their emissions and to report emission data to the appropriate authorities. One of the most sensitive issues is quality of environmental research done by authorities. In general, the authorities produce and/or stimulate exhaustive and correct environmental research. However there are some controversial issues. One of these issues is a water related case the case of the small water driven electricity production facilities SWDEPF. Over the last several years Bulgarian authorities have issued hundreds of water use permits for the construction of SWDEPF. These SWDEPF are planned to be built on the courses of some mountain rivers, especially in the Western Rhodopes mountains, although not exclusively. The extensive number of investment viii See attachement 1 Explanatory notes, note 3

9 proposals for such SWDEPF in Bulgaria and the delicate state of the environment in these areas where nature and civilization meet could be reason enough for the authorities to submit the question to deeper environmental research and the whole matter (the policy for construction of SWDEPF) possibly even to a strategic environmental assessment. Moreover, at some of the places where SWDEPF are planned, or even constructed, protected species under the EU Directive 92/43 were observed. This brings up the question of the exchange of information within the MOEW itself, as well as the question to what extent water related environmental information is updated with data on the existing biodiversity. As SWDEPF are not subject to mandatory EIA study, authorities have issued hundreds of permits without conducting environmental research and without conducting public participation procedures i.e. without the access to environmental information that would naturally occur in the course of an EIA procedure ix. The provision of art.5, paragraph 1, c of the AC is correctly implemented by the requirement of art.23 of the EPL. However there is a small difference between art.5, c and art.23 of the EPL. The AC puts the obligation to inform the public, in the event of environmental emergencies, on the authorities. Art.23 of the EPL requires the operator to inform the authorities in the event of environmental emergencies i.e. the obligation of the authorities is somewhat predetermined by the operator s behavior x. The assessment of whether the Government is adequately prepared to act accordingly to the provisions of art.23 of EPL and art.5, paragraph 1, c of the AC is a very difficult job. In past years cases were reported in the media where the rivers Maritza and Yantra (Yantra flows into the Danube River) were badly polluted by non permitted discharges of industrial waste water i.e. situations that might be characterized as environmental emergencies. There is not enough information to be able to assess whether in those or in other cases the authorities have acted properly xi. The requirement of art.5, paragraph 2, a of the AC is met by the Bulgarian Government. Art.15, paragraph 1, item 3 of the APIA requires from the administration to publish a description of its public information arrays and resources. Art.25 of the EPL refers to the provision of art.15, paragraph 1, item 3 of the APIA stipulating that concerning environmental information, it is the MOEW who is responsible to define the description of environmental information arrays and resources. Subsequently MOEW issued order No 110/ for the creation and publication on the Executive ix The SWDEPF case was reported to me by NGO activists. They assumed that the MOEW simply did not have enough information about the biodiversity close to water courses (in this case the issue would be of importance for assessment of art.5, paragraph s 1 implementation). Or that there was not enough communication between the National Service for Biodiversity Protection and the RIEW s program (in that case the issue would be relevant to the analysis in Sections II and III). x This issue consists of several different questions. Art.23 of the EPL has been subject to a number of discussions, but my impression is that only theoretical arguments have been expressed. I am a bit worried that there has never been enough information about the practical implementation of art.23 of the EPL. xi After the first draft of the NA report was prepared I asked the MOEW to provide me information about the number of emergency cases related to water issues in the years I have got an answer. Several conclusions can be drawn. First most of the emergency cases happened after accidents where mobile petrol tanks were involved. The second conclusion is that there are several more than a dozen rivers which were polluted in the last three years, not only the rivers Yantra and Maritza. The third conclusion is that the administration has imposed fines in relatively small number of cases. In most cases the administration has issued prescriptions. This brings up the question whether the administration can do more for prevention of future accidental pollution of aquatic environment. The MOEW did not give me the names of the companies which caused the accidental pollution and the names of the persons responsible for compliance with the standards in each of the cases. The reason for doing so was that this is confidential personal data and therefore the consent of the affected persons is needed. It is difficult to conclude whether the public was informed about the after-effects of an environmental emergency analysis of who had polluted, to what extent was the environment polluted, who was responsible for monitoring and reporting, who, if anyone was punished, etc. Most probably the public does not know the answers to all these questions.

10 Environmental Agency s (EXEA) Internet site the environmental information arrays and resources (called Environmental Data Resources Catalogue EDRC). The EDRC contains information which is organized in two main categories firstly, addresses of organizations and contact persons and secondly data about the information arrays and resources classified in 4 main classes electronic databases, documents/registers, maps and others. The EDRC is published at the following address: http//npfbg.eionet.eu.int/cds-bg/main.htm Art.5, paragraph 2, b is implemented correctly the number and scope of different environmental permit registers in Bulgaria is meaningful (see infra I.2.3.). At the Ministry for Environment and Water and at almost all Regional Inspectorates for Environment and Water (RIEW) there are officials responsible for the public relations. Those officials are trained and prepared to support the public in seeking access to information (environmental information included). Recently, environmental information centers were set up in many RIEWS and soon all RIEWS will have such centers xii. The compliance of art.5, paragraph 2, c of the AC with internal Bulgarian legislation might be put under question because access to the registers kept by the Ministry for Environment and Water and the River Basin Directorates (RBD) is not free of charge (art.184, paragraph 2 of the WA). It is true that the amount of the charge is small (4.5 eurocents per page for copying) but it is still a charge. The charge is only for the copying. On the other hand it is not clear whether environmental authorities can assure practical arrangements for examination of the public registers (without obtaining a copy of the permit) if anybody requests this. Art.5, paragraph 3 is implemented by the Bulgarian Government. The reports for the State of the environment and a great deal of the environmental legislation are already on the websites of the Ministry for Environment and Water and the EXEA. This is also the case with the water related environmental information. Art.5, paragraph 4 is also implemented by the Bulgarian Government. The reports on the State of the environment are published and disseminated. These reports are prepared and published on yearly basis xiii. The Bulgarian Government acts correctly and in compliance with art.5, paragraph 5 of the AC. The only hint of doubt can appear when speaking on the progress reports on the implementation of legislation and policy documents art.5, paragraph 5, a of the AC. In general in Bulgaria there is no tradition for the reporting and analysis on implementation of the existing legislation. The author of the present needs assessment can not remember a case when the administration prepared and/or submitted to discussion a document for implementation of an existing law. An interesting exception of this rule appeared in the summer of 2004 when the MOEW published on it s website a draft of a National Strategy for Governance and Development of the Water Sector in Bulgaria (NSGDWSB). This document analyses, among other issues, the results of the implementation of the WA (1999). The document contains interesting conclusions and can be singled out as a successful and frank attempt for analysis of some relations between practical problems and existing legislation. The EPL created a legal framework for voluntary eco-labeling and eco-auditing schemes (art of the EPL). However it is not clear to what extent business that run xii I asked information about how many MOEW/RIEW officials are employed in PR departments and in departments dealing with access to information. I asked also information about the budget of the PR/access to information departments. The MOEW answered me that there are no separate budgets for the PR/access to information departments. No precise data was given to me about how many officials are employed. xiii It is discussed later that Green books are not published in due time.

11 water polluting facilities adhere to the eco-labeling and eco-auditing schemes. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian Government implements correctly art.5, paragraph 6 of the AC. xiv The Bulgarian Government acts accordingly as concerning art.5, paragraph 7 of the AC. Some steps for greater openness and more transparency have been undertaken even without legal obligation to do so. Two recent examples should be singled out the publication of a draft National Environmental Strategy for the period and the publication of NSMDWSB on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Water. These two steps entirely comply with art.5, paragraph 7 of the AC. As is already mentioned, the reports on the state of the environment are also electronically available. The Yearly State of Environment Report (Green Book) also contains data how environmental authorities enforce the law. For instance, in this report there is information on the number of inspections, the number of prescriptions issued by competent authorities, on the number of the sanctions imposed on polluters as well as the amount of fines for sanctioning polluters. Implementation of art.5, paragraph 8 of the AC is in very early stage. Bulgaria makes efforts for the correct implementation of art.5, paragraph 9 of the AC. The country is already a member of the European Environmental Agency. The Executive Environmental Agency reports with data from the emission control off facilities subject to IPPC permit system these data are sent to the European Environmental Agency. In May of 2003 Bulgaria signed the PRTR Protocol to the AC. In the future, the Bulgarian Government plans to create a more extensive register for existing pollution releases and the transfer of pollution. 2.Specific law or regulations related to water 2.1. Status of legislation concerning waters including harmonization/transposition with the EU directives on water with special regard to WFD. In 1999 the Bulgarian Parliament enacted the WA. This act was aimed at the transposition of EU legislation. The WA, together with more than a dozen regulations was meant to transpose the EU directives related to water. A list of the EU directives with reference on how each is transposed is attached to this needs assessment. It was already mentioned that at the time when the WA was drafted, the WFD had not yet been adopted. That s why presently the provisions of all water sector directives from the environmental Acquis Communautaire, with the exception of part of the WFD are transposed into the Bulgarian legislation xv. Focusing on the WFD, we can see that there is no adequate transposition of art.6 of the WFD (the register of protected areas). The transposition of art.14 of the WFD is done partially due to the fact that in Bulgarian legislation there is no requirement similar to the one, provided in art.14, paragraph 1 of the WFD. Art.162, paragraph 3 and art.166, paragraph 3 of the WA transpose the requirement of art.14, paragraph 2 of the WFD. Finally there is also xiv I made additional investigation on the ways the Bulgarian Government encourages operators to use eco-labeling and eco-auditing schemes. I found out that the main tools for management of the eco-labeling and the eco-auditing schemes the registers provided for in the law - have just been prepared. No applications for granting of eco-label have been received yet. No applications for registration under the National Eco-auditing system have been filed yet. xv Attached you can find a list of the EU water related directives with a reference which is the relevant Bulgarian secondary legislation.

12 transposition of the third paragraph of art.14 of the WFD it is performed by art.166 of the WA. The publication of the Guidance on PP in relation to the WFD (2002) showed that art.14 of the WFD is but the top of the iceberg and that beyond the plain surface of the simple requirements, provided in it s three paragraphs, there is much space for additional arrangements for public participation that might become legal requirements if the State intends to do so. None of these suggestions exist as legal requirements in Bulgarian legislation Planned developments in developing and implementing legislation regarding water. The MOEW has published a draft new Water Act on its website. The draft is open to comments by the public. The draft new WA conforms to the requirements of the WFD and specifically of its art.14. In art of the draft new WA, the requirements of art.14 of WFD are correctly transposed. Art.6 of the WFD is also transposed in the draft WA by the provision of art.140 of the draft WA. However the draft WA still lacks legal steps for further regulation of public participation similar to the steps suggested by the Guidance on PP in relation to the WFD xvi Requirements for collection of environmental and water related information. Environmental information collected by the MOEW, the EXEA, the RIEW and the RBD is subject to special regulation the provisions of art of the EPL. Art.143 of the EPL proclaims the creation of a National Environmental Monitoring System (NEMS).It is stressed that the NEMS covers the entire territory of Bulgaria. National networks are created for the monitoring of different milieus the different kind of water milieus included. The NEMS is organized at national, basin, and regional level (art.144, paragraph 4 of the EPL). Art.144, paragraph 3 of the EPL states that For the purposes of information support of the National Environmental Monitoring System, a National Automated System for Environmental Monitoring shall be established. All measurements and laboratory tests shall be performed by accredited laboratories (art.144, paragraph 5 of the EPL). The requirements for collection of water related environmental information are further developed by the WA and by a special regulation on these issues Regulation No 5. A special text of the WA art.170 provides for the creation of a National Water Monitoring System (NWMS): Art.170 (1) The National Water Monitoring System shall comprehend: - a national network for precipitation and surface waters, including firm water yield; - a national network for ground waters; - a coastal reference network for the Black sea; - a control and information system on the state of waste waters; - operation, maintenance, communication support and laboratory information services under the foregoing items. xvi I mean all possible arrangements about who is invited to participate in River Basin Management, the scope and timing of public participation, additional guarantees for early involvement of the public, specific measures for effective access to information in relation to the WFD, etc.

13 Another water related system for collecting information is the Water Development Cadastre (WDC). The WDC provides information regarding the ownership and the state of water bodies and the waters contained therein within national territory, as well as regarding existing water systems and facilities. The WDC is kept by the RBD and is consolidated at the MOEW. The WDC is open to public inspection. Actually the WDC is in course of preparation xvii Institutions collecting and providing environmental and water related information. There are a number of executive power ministries/agencies which collect environmental information. Among those the most important are of course the Ministry of environment and water and its regional/local agencies the RIEW and the RBD, the EXEA, the Ministry for Health (MH), the Regional Inspectorates for Protection and Control of Human Health (RIPCHH), the Ministry for Agriculture and Forests (MAF), the Ministry for Regional Development and Planning (MRDP) and others. All of these agencies collect environmental information. Theoretically, and in practice all other agencies can collect and retain environmental information. The environmental information available at the other central authorities is however of less importance. The water related registers are numerous. The main water registers are: the register kept by the RBD for the permits, issued by the RBD art.182, paragraph 1, item 1 of the WA (with a reference to art.52, paragraph 1, item 3 of the WA) the registers kept by the MOEW for the permits issued by the MOEW and the Council of Ministers art.183, item 1 of the WA (with a reference to art.52, paragraph 1, items 1 and 2 of the WA); the register kept by the MOEW of concessions as awarded for waters constituting exclusive State property (these are the mineral waters) art.183, item 2 of the WA xviii ; the already mentioned Water Related Cadastre art of the WA; the register kept by the municipalities of the wells located within the territory of the municipality art.182, paragraph 1, item 3 of the WA (with a reference to art.25, paragraph 1 of the WA); the register kept by the municipalities of requirements to, terms and conditions of, or prohibition against a certain type of common water use or water body use - art.182, paragraph 1, item 3 of the WA (with a reference to art.41, paragraph 3,item 2 of the WA); There are a number of other registers which are provided by secondary legislation issued by the Government. Such registers are: the register kept by the MH for the certificates for mineral water issued by the MH art.34, paragraph 3 of the Regulation No 1; the register kept by the MH of all bathing sites in Bulgaria art.18, paragraph 1 of the Regulation No 11 (in force after ); xvii The WDC is in course of completion (information provided by Mr. Dontchev from the MOEW). xviii This register refers more to water quantity

14 Several other information systems (sometimes called registers) also exist xix. Such information systems are: the hydrogeology information system with data from hydrogeological exploration. This information system is maintained by the Water Directorate General at the MOEW art.32 of the Regulation No 1 xx ; the register for evaluated and approved operational resources kept by the Water Directorate General at the MOEW art.45 of the Regulation No 1 xxi. The register for the water sources for public use kept by municipalities art.60 of the Regulation No 1 (Regulation No 1 refers to art.25, paragraph 1 of the WA for this register of the water sources for public use even if art.25, paragraph 1 provides for register of wells on the territory of the municipality); Regulation No 1 provides that there must be kept two different registers for polluted waste waters discharged into the water bodies one register for waste waters which contain pollutants listed in annex 1 to the Regulation and another register for waters containing pollutants listed in annex 2 to the Regulation art.82 of the Regulation No 1; the register for the sites where indirect discharges of polluted waste water into the ground water has been performed art.89 of the Regulation No 1. This register is kept by the RBD; An information system of administrative decisions for determination and establishment of Special Protection Areas art.44, paragraph 1 of the Regulation No 3; A whole range of reports are provided in order to keep the public aware of the state of the waters and to assure good communication between the different authorities xxii : every four years the MOEW prepares a report on the state of water s pollution with nitrates from agricultural sources Regulation No 2; every three years the MOEW prepares a report on the status of the waters supporting fish and shellfish organisms life art.21, paragraph 1 of Regulation No 4; every two years the RBD directors publish reports on the condition of the urban waste water discharged and the removal of sludge from urban waste water treatment plants located within their territory art.20, paragraph 2 of the Regulation No 6; the MH prepares and publishes an annual report on the quality of bathing waters art.18, paragraph 3 of the Regulation N o 11 (in force after ). There are also requirements for announcing particular data that is important for water quality management: xix The issue of what registers are kept by the authorities and how many of them are accessible by the public is still to be clarified. Discussions during the National workshop on February 2005 gave answers to only some of the questions. xx This register refer more to water quantity xxi This register refer more to water quantity xxii These are formal reports rather than in-time reports. All of them were provided for the needs of reporting to the EU institutions.

15 the MOEW issues an order identifying the list of sensitive areas according to a set of criteria, laid down in Regulation No 6 art.12, paragraph 1 of the Regulation No 6; the MOEW issues an order identifying the list of less sensitive areas according to a set of criteria, laid down in Regulation No 6 art.13, paragraph 1 of the Regulation No 6; the State Sanitary Control authorities inform the population concerned with health risks resulting from the use of certain waters, as well as in case a specific health hazard exists art.2, paragraph 2 of the Regulation No 9; annually, before the start of each bathing season, municipal mayors publish a list of the areas permitted for bathing within their territory art.17 of the Regulation No 11; It should be noted that in water management there is a provision for active dissemination of information in case of an environmental water emergency art.131, paragraph 2 of the WA: Art. 131 (2) Should the waters in any river be polluted accidentally, the [competent] Basin Directorate Director and bodies of local self-government which have received information about the pollution under Paragraph (1) shall be obliged to promptly warn water users and [water body] users downstream as to the nature of the pollution and the measures which said users could take to reduce damage resulting from such pollution Environmental monitoring and reporting requirements including water. As already mentioned, the legal basis for the environmental monitoring is chapter 8 of the EPL National Environmental Monitoring System. The National Environmental Monitoring System comprehends: 1. 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) land and soil monitoring; g) forests and protected-areas monitoring; h) biological 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. For the purposes of information support of the National Environmental Monitoring System, a National Automated System for Environmental Monitoring is established. The National Water Monitoring System (art.170 of the WA) is defined in literally the same way as the NEMS. Regulation No 5 specifies some details of the NWMS including

16 that the NWMS is organized at a river basin level and at a national level. Within the boundaries of the water basin management districts, the NWMS is organized at a regional level. The monitoring design for the River Danube shall be elaborated jointly with the Ministry for Transport and Communications (art.22 of the Regulation No 5). It is specified that the waste water status control and information system shall cover all installations generating waste waters of a diurnal quantity exceeding 100 cubic meters and discharging into water bodies (art.46 of the Regulation No 5). The requirement for self monitoring and several other accompanying obligations are provided in art.174 of the WA: Art.174(1) The Minister of Environment and Water may obligate water users and/or water body users to conduct self-monitoring of water quantity and quality according to the requirements of Article 171 (2) herein. (2) The persons referred to in paragraph (1) shall preserve the information on measurements, conducted for a period of six years. (3) In the performance of the control functions thereof, the authorities referred to in Items 2 and 3 of Article 52 (1) herein shall have the right of access at any time to the equipment referred to in paragraph (1) and to the information referred to in paragraph (2). (4) Upon termination of the right to water use and/or to water body use, the information referred to in paragraph (2) shall be delivered into the custody of the competent Basin Directorate. Art.48, paragraph 1 of the Regulation No 5 broadens the circle of the persons which are subject to the requirement to conduct self monitoring: Art.48 (1) Water self-monitoring shall be conducted by: 1. the holders of water use permits and/or water body use permits, including waste water discharge permits, where conduct of self-monitoring is included in any such permit as a condition; 2. the grantees of a specific right to use mineral waters constituting exclusive State property; 3. persons obliged to conduct water monitoring by an environmental impact assessment decision as issued; 4. persons obliged to conduct self-monitoring within the meaning of the Regulation on Protection of Waters against Pollution Caused by Nitrates from Agricultural Sources; 5. persons obliged to conduct self-monitoring in connection with remediation of past environmental damage; 6. persons obliged to conduct water monitoring within the meaning of Article 174 (1) of the Water Act. Self-monitoring is conducted based on a plan proposed by the parties conducting the self-monitoring and subsequently approved by the authority. Part of this information can be included in the Water Monitoring Automated Information System and into the waste water status control and information system. The authority specifies the procedure and the manner for provision of said information (art.53 of the Regulation No 5). The costs of self-monitoring points design, construction and operation shall be borne by the obligated persons, covered under article 48, paragraph 1 of Regulation No 5.