Bulgaria launches checks into companies, sites, TPPs regarding waste disposal

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Environment has initiated checks of the companies holding permits for waste activities, issued under the Environment Protection Act, the ministry said on June 9.

The inspections, ordered by Minister of Environment, Emil Dimitrov, will start in the districts of Montana and Plovdiv.

They aim to establish whether the conditions of the permits or complex permits are observed, whether there are installations and facilities put into operation on the sites, how the generated waste from the activity is managed and whether the conditions of the issued consents for notifications for transborder shipments of waste are observed.

The ministry also starts inspections at the Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) and for each of them a specific scope and parameters of the inspection have been determined. At the same time, all other major operators carrying out energy recovery activities will be inspected in order to prevent pollution or damage to the environment.

The inspections aim to establish whether all the conditions of the Waste Management Act or the complex permits are observed.

The inspections will also look into whether purification facilities have been installed - filters, automatic systems for performing own continuous measurements.

In this regard, the Ministry of Environment and Water announced that in order to strengthen control, Minister Dimitrov tomorrow will submit to the Council of Ministers changes in the Rules of Procedure of the ministry, which envisage to set up a new directorate called"National Coordination Centre". It will collect, monitor and analyze the necessary information to ensure the protection of the components of the environment, as well as the factors that pollute or damage it.

According to the Minister, the coordination centre will enable preventative identification of possible problems and timely decision-making.

The unit will work in close cooperation with the regional authorities that implement the state policy in the area of environment, including the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water, Basin Directorates and Directorates of National Parks.

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The inspections come after on May 29, Deputy Environment and Water Minister Krassimir Zhivkov and other people were charged with illegal actions related to waste imports and management. They were accused of participating in an organized crime group which includes public officers.