Bulgaria

III. Conclusions

From the facts set forth above, we can make the following conclusions for the progress in advancing the environmental legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria in the direction of the environmental legislation of the European Union:

In the Republic of Bulgaria, being an associated country to the European Union, the process of approximating its environmental legislation to that of the European Union is ongoing;
Tremendous and large-scale work for the elaboration of bills and draft-regulations to be in compliance with the Directives, Regulations and Decisions of the European Union is in progress;
A great number of these bills and draft regulations have been submitted to parliament or the Council of Ministers;
Bringing the environmental legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria very close to the environmental legislation of the European Union will contribute to the perfection and updating of the legal system to the level of the highly developed European countries market economies and democratic societies;
The new environmental legislation will create an even greater guaranty for the protection of human health and life, and for the protection of all components of the environment.

The realization and perfection of the system of the environmental legislation in the country depends on a number of factors:

In some cases, the bills submitted to parliament for adoption are discussed and pass through parliamentary commissions very slowly. For example, the following fact is indicative: of the three bills dealing with environmental protection which were submitted to parliament in 1994, not one has been voted on;
Sometimes, bills and draft regulations are returned by the Council of Ministers because they are imprecise and need improvement by the person or authority presenting the relevant document;
Some of the directives, regulations and decisions of the European Union are not available in Bulgaria, especially the newly issued ones;

A great number of the laws and regulations in force in Bulgaria were issued decades ago and they are in practice not topical and fitting.

In spite of all the difficulties, we can say that a significant progress in the approximation of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria to the environmental legislation of the European Union is evident.

Environmental Regulation of Constitutional Character in Bulgaria

criteria	assessment
1. Has the Constitution any direct reference to environmental protection
as a priority state objective?	yes
a human right?	yes
2. Environmental regulation is based upon a framework environmental act?	in principle
3. Environmental regulation is based upon
a general environmental policy adopted by the parliament or government?	yes
a relatively detailed environmental program adopted by the parliament or government?	yes
a general environmental concept that has not really been adopted by a regulatory body?	no
4. Are there any specific provisions in the association agreement concerning the environment?	yes
5. Is there a central government organ specializing in environmental protection
a ministry?	yes
a central authority (inspectorate)?	yes
6. Is there a specific administrative authority system for environmental protection in the country?	yes
7. Is there an advisory body to the government on environmental matters?	no
8. Are there any specific provisions concerning environmental liability
in the Civil Code?	yes
in the Criminal Code?	yes
in the general administrative law?	no direct information
in privatization laws?	yes

Assessment of the Compliance Level of EU Environmental Legislation in Bulgaria

GENERAL POLICY
criteria	score	weight	level of compliance
1. Do the following principle appear in environmental legislation? prevention/precaution rectifying the pollution at source polluter pays Integrating environmental policy into other policies the high level of protection	0.67	0.15	0.1000
2. Is the polluter pays principle embodied or reflected in the framework environmental act? other basic law on the environment? in civil law? in other laws?	0.33	0.05	0.0167
3. Does the polluter pays principle cover the damages? a specific environment damage? the costs of reinstatement? the costs of prevention? the costs of monitoring and control?	0.33	0.10	0.0333
4. Is there an EIA regulation existing in the country in a draft format? in a detailed regulation? in general?	0.67	0.15	0.1000
5. Does the EIA provisions contain the list of activities subject to mandatory EIA? a direct link to permitting? the details of the procedure? public participation?	0.33	0.15	0.0500
6. The free access to information provided for in a legal regulation? covers most of the environmental information in general? provides for an obligation of the public authorities? provides for some obligation of the polluters? is protected by a judicial review process?	0.67	0.15	0.1000
7. Is there an eco-label award scheme embodied in law reflecting the eco-label regulations?	0.33	0.05	0.0167
8. Are there any provisions concerning the development of environmental management schemes? EMAS (voluntary) environmental auditing reflected in law provisions connected with permitting	0.33	0.05	0.0167
9. Is there an environmental fund existing as a separate state fund? as part of other funds?	1.00	0.10	0.1000
10. Is the concept of IPPC reflected in environmental policy/legislation?	0.33	0.05	0.0167
Total			0.55

AIR

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Are there any plans for improvement of air quality? 0.00 0.20 0.0000

2. Are there specific regulations for point sources? 1.00 0.10 0.1000

3. Are there specific regulations for mobile sources? 0.33 0.10 0.0333

4. Does the BATNEC as a general requirement appear in air pollution regulation? 0.67 0.10 0.0667

5. Concerning BATNEC, are there any special policy or strategy implemented for industrial plants? 0.33 0.10 0.0333

6. Are there any specific regulations for greenhouse gas emissions? 0.67 0.10 0.0667

7. Are there any specific regulations for waste incineration plants? 0.67 0.10 0.0667

8. Is there any administrative authorization procedure for industrial plant operations regarding air pollution? 0.33 0.20 0.0667

Total 0.43

CHEMICALS, INDUSTRIAL RISK AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Do the dangerous substances (chemicals) require a specific permit and record-keeping? 0.67 0.15 0.1026

2. Do the dangerous substances (chemicals) require special classification, packaging and labeling? 0.33 0.15 0.0513

3. Are the dangerous industrial activities reported and controlled? 0.33 0.15 0.0513

4. Are internal/external plans for emergency responses for dangerous industrial activities required? 0.00 0.15 0.0000

5. Is the public informed on dangerous activities and emergency response plans? 0.33 0.12 0.0385

6. Are there some similar regulations like Good Laboratory Practice or other qualifications? 0.00 0.12 0.0000

7. Are there any regulations like those in connection with GMOs or GMMOs? 0.33 0.08 0.0256

8. Does the risk assessment appear
in case of chemical substances?
in case of dangerous activities? 0.00 0.08 0.0000

Total 0.27

NATURE CONSERVATION

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Is nature conservation based mostly upon the regulation of protected species and protected areas? 1.00 0.50 0.5000

2. Do the new elements of nature conservation such as natural habitats appear in law? 0.33 0.50 0.1667

Total 0.67

NOISE

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Are there any specific noise pollution regulations in terms of motor vehicles? 1.00 0.50 0.5000

2. Are there any specific product standards for noise emission of household appliances? 0.00 0.50 0.0000

Total 0.50

WASTE

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Is waste management regulated by law? 0.33 0.15 0.0513

2. Do waste management regulations cover waste management plans? 0.00 0.15 0.0000

3. Are waste management regulations developed for
hazardous wastes?
other wastes? 0.33 0.15 0.0513

4. Do waste management activities require a specific permit? 0.00 0.15 0.0000

5. Do hazardous waste incineration plants have specific regulation? 0.67 0.12 0.0769

6. Are there specific requirements for the landfill of wastes? 0.33 0.12 0.0385

7. Does BANTEC form a part of the general waste management regulations? 0.00 0.08 0.0000

8. Are there any special regulations relating waste originated from packaging materials, such as beverage containers? 0.33 0.08 0.0256

Total 0.24

WATER

criteria score weight level of compliance

1. Does water protection cover the water discharges? 0.67 0.17 0.1111

2. Are there specific water quality requirements for different water uses, like drinking or bathing water? 0.33 0.17 0.0556

3. Are there regulations for protection of groundwater against pollution? 0.33 0.17 0.0556

4. Are water quality requirements for the general ecological quality of water reflected in national legislation? 0.33 0.17 0.0556

5. Are water quality standards laid down? 0.67 0.17 0.1111

6. Is a monitoring system set up for water quality control? 0.67 0.17 0.0111

Total 0.50

REC * PUBLICATIONS * APPROXIMATION OF EU ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION *
COUNTRY REPORTS * BULGARIA