Bobov Dol TPP declares intention to stop burning unregulated waste

After an inspection commissioned by the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office to the Minister of Environment and Water, Thermal Power Plant Bobov Dol EAD declared with a letter to the Chief Prosecutor, Ivan Geshev, an intention to stop the burning of unregulated waste.

The check was assigned because of the great public importance of the problem related to environmental pollution from the activity of TPP Bobov Dol EAD and the possible adverse consequences for the life and health of people living in the settlements in the immediate vicinity of the facilities.

The report received at the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office states that by an order of the Minister of Environment and Water, experts from the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water (RIEW) in Pernik, Vratsa, Sofia and Stara Zagora have carried out a check on the activities of Bobov Dol TPP, which includes the fulfilment of the conditions of the permits for combustion installations for the generation of electricity and landfill for non-hazardous waste, as well as all regulatory requirements for co-incineration of waste.

The check identified violations and non-compliance by the operator with essential obligations in the field of environmental legislation: non-compliance with the requirements of the automatic system for discontinuing the submission of waste in case of exceeding the emission limit values; lack of characterization of certain wastes generated by the activity of the company, and for the remaining wastes, missing agreed plans for their sampling and testing. There has also been an unlawful discharge of flue gases into the normal mode of operation through the chimney, which can only be used in transient modes of operation of the installation or in the event of a desulfurization installation.

The report further states that a compulsory administrative measure has been issued to suspend the co-incineration of biomass and waste with a validity period until the elimination of the non-compliance with the conditions in the permits and regulatory requirements.