Romania

II. Main elements of EU environmental legislation embodied or becoming adopted in the national legal system

• Environmental regulation of constitutional character
• General environmental policy
• Air
• Chemicals, industrial risks and biotechnology
• Nature
• Noise
• Waste
• Water

Environmental regulation of constitutional character

Articles 38 (Paragraph 2) and 41 (Paragraph 6) from the constitution are based on the concept included in Art. 100 a) Paragraph 1 of the Treaty establishing the European Union: principles concerning health, safety, and environmental protection.

EA Nr. 9/1973 mentions that environmental protection is a national problem which is integrated into the general social and economic planned activity of the state (Art. 1), specifying that environmental protection is primarily the duty of legal and natural persons. (Art.2)

The new principles of EU environmental legislation adopted in the national legal system, which are at the base of the new EPA to enter into force are:

• Prevention
• Conservation of biodiversity
• Ecological risks
• Polluter Pays
• Integrated monitoring
• Sustainable development
• Maintenance and alleviation of environmental quality, and ecological reconstruction
• Setting up of a framework of NGOs and public participation activities to further the process of environmental protection decisions

In addition, the state recognizes that each person has the right to a healthy environment and for this reason the following rights are assured: free access to environmental information, consultation on decisions, the freedom of association (i.e., in setting up organizations to defend environmental quality), and to receive compensation for environmental damages (Art.6 in the new EPA).

These rights are not stated in the EA now in force. Comparing EU legislation with the main Romanian legislative acts (CR, EPA), it might be said that the objectives itemized in Article 100r) of the Maastricht Treaty have been taken well into account.

In conclusion, EU environmental legislation of constitutional character has been applied in written form, but it will take some time to be applied de facto. This conclusion is based on the idea that some provisions in the new EPA appear quite ambitious, e.g. Art. 10 says the environmental authority must cease any activity if the terms established in the given compliance program are not respected. The acceptance or rejection of one activity by public debate (Art.11, Paragraph g) seems to be also a good approximation of Directive 85/337/EEC, but proper implementation will take some time.

General environmental policy

• the process of authorization of existing and future activities;
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and EI Analysis (definitions presented in the following text);
• programs of compliance with regulations;
• public participation in the decision-making process;
• maximum allowable emission levels;
• standards (GO Nr.19/1992).

The main elements of EU environmental issues have been embodied in the Environmental Strategy of the Government. There are 21 objectives to be reached in the new strategy. The objectives are itemized as it follows: improvement of institutional capacity, of legislation, environmental monitoring, waste technology updating, solving 14 'hot spots', reducing acid rain by way of SOx, and NOx emission abatement, solid waste management, finalizing investments already underway in the area of environmental protection, defense against natural calamities, reforestation, wildlife maintenance, biodiversity conservation (e.g., in the Danube River Delta, along the Black Sea Coast, and the Danube River), human communities, and education. The priority criteria to achieve the above objectives are: maintenance and improvement of health, life and nature potential; defense against accidents and natural calamities; maximum cost/benefit ratio; adherence to international conventions and programs; and preparing legislative adherence to EU laws.

In spite of the fact that the new EPA is not in force now, the government is acting by means of resolutions (GD, GO, MO, MD). The provisions in these resolutions correspond to the EPA and also to EU legislation.

From the analysis of the progress in approximating EU environmental legislation into Romanian legislation concerning general policy, the following conclusion can be drawn. The process of approximating EU environmental legislation into Romanian legislation started quite recently, some four to five years ago, and this is why it appears unevenly treated within the framework of environmental problems (e.g., while the EIA issue is quite well embodied in the legislation, the "Polluter Pays" principle is only partially incorporated; and eco-labeling, as well as freedom access to information are just now being looked into).

Council Recommendation 75/436/Euratom, ECSC, EEC - Polluter Pays Principle

Emission levels set for pollutants from fixed installations, as provided for in the referred Council Recommendation, are included in MO 462/1993. There are no charges set forth with respect to 'Standard Products' or 'Operating Standards' as included in the Council Recommendation.

Exceptions to the Polluter Pays principle can be found incorporated in the new EPA, which states that each existing polluter should effect a Compliance Program taking measures over a defined period of time (according to a previous agreement with Environmental Protection Agencies) to achieve the legal limits of pollution.

It appears, that the "Polluter Pays" principle for air and for soil polluters is applied by imposing fines, and this does not correspond to the definition of the Council Recommendation.

Council Directive 85/337/EEC - Environmental Impact Assessment

Due to the fact that EU environmental legislation has only recently been known in Romania, there are still areas of confusion regarding terminology and definitions, and some incoherence in the existing regulations.

The following terms are used in Romanian legislation at present:

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), an evaluation of possible effects of a future activity on the environment. MO 170/1990 provides that an "Environmental Impact Study is required for a new investment". This corresponds to Directive 85/335/EEC. EIA is required to obtain approval to undertake a new activity (i.e., investment).
• Environmental Impact Analysis, which entails the checking and verification by analysis, measurements, on-site studies, of existing activities or the review of those conducted previously. This definition is mirrored by MO 619/1992 and corresponds somewhat with the definition in Council Regulation 1836/93 on the Eco-management and Audit Scheme.
• Environmental Balance, which means both EIA and EI Analysis is in accord with EA (Art.1). Both formulations written above are met in the new EPA as well.

Summarizing the incorporation of 85/335/EEC provisions in existing Romanian legislation, it can be said that they are fully embodied in:

• MO 170/1990, which sets forth the requirement that developers obtain consent based on EIA (i.e., EIS) for new investments;
• MD 113/1990, which lays down the content of the documentation to be presented to the local environmental authorities for consent. A list of projects subject to EIA is presented in Annex 2 of MD 113/1990. The list comprises the same activities presented in Annex II of 85/337 EEC.
• MO 437/1991 provides a list of activities which require environmental authorization (Annex 3 of the report).
• MO 619/1992 establishes the minimum content of EIA or EI Analysis necessary to receive consent (acceptance) or authorization.

Council Directive 90/313/EEC - Access to environmental information

Council regulation EEC/880/92 - Eco-label award scheme

Council Regulation EEC/1836/93 - Eco-management and audit scheme

In any case, the provisions of Regulation 1836/93 should be taken into account in a special Romanian legal act. This EU legal instrument needs to be approximated into domestic legislation.

Proposal for a Council Directive 93/C 31/106, Integrated pollution prevention and control

Air

EPA 9/1973 (Chapter II, Art.8 - 10).

MO Nr.170/1990 of the Ministry of Environment on the procedure and competencies in obtaining approval for future activities when it comes to meeting environmental requirements.

Decision Nr.113/1990, concerning the content of the documentation to be presented to obtain consent to develop a project. According to the provisions of this decision, the documentation should outline the technology to be used, emission characteristics (flow, concentrations, collection and treatment systems, as well as calculations confirming the data presented); also the lay-out of the plant and the proposed method of self-monitoring of emissions. Each developer must base their application on an EIA.

Order Nr.437/1991, concerning the procedure and the content of the documentation to be presented to get the authorization for existing activities. This regulation also mandates the inclusion of data on emissions from pollution sources (including noise and vibrations), the manner in which transport problems will be solved, and the methods to abate air pollution.

Ministry of Environment Order Nr.619/1992, which inter alia requires the EIA to include - in addition to the requirements of Ministry of Environment Order Nr.170/1990 and Ministry of Environment Decision Nr.113/1990 - emission evaluation, risk analysis, cost/benefit analysis, as well as the proposed means of emission abatement. The same act sets forth the obligation of the polluter to present a Program of Compliance (PC) with the regulations regarding environmental aspects.

MWFEP Order Nr.462/1993, concerning the technical conditions to achieve atmospheric protection, the methodology to measure emissions, and the required maximum emission levels which generally correspond to the values indicated by the standards of EU countries. The range of emission sources covered by the limits provided (by concentration of pollutants and by gas flow) is:

• combustion sources (suspended matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides), e.g., power plants and cogeneration, heating plants, municipal solid waste incineration plants;
• volatile organic carbon emission sources, e.g. chemical plants;
• sources of suspended matter (e.g. heavy metals) emissions.

This order provides for, inter alia:

• the obligation that new production lines be provided with equipment for the removal of pollutants, taking into account applicable, verified existing technologies, which should be applied according to the necessary efficiencies calculated in the context of the possible supporting environmental zone (Art.3 and 7);
• the obligations to modernize existing air treatment equipment within seven years as of 7 January 1993; this period might be shortened or postponed by the environmental authority depending on technical, social and financial conditions (Art.8 - Art.11);
• the obligation of self-monitoring (Art.13);
• the embodying of EU regulations concerning vehicle emissions (Art.17 and Art.18);
• the obligation to notify purchasers of fuel content (Art.20 and Art.21).
• Environmental Protection Agencies can take measures to limit road traffic and vehicle emissions (Art.27);
• Emitters requiring to be licensed (listed in Annex 3 of the report) must evaluate their discharges and present these data to the relevant environmental authority.

National Standards (STAS Nr.12574/1987), concerning the maximum allowable limits of pollutant concentrations (emissions) in protected zones (e.g., residential areas). Compliance with national standards is an obligation of all natural and legal persons in Romania.

The national regulations concerning air pollution are not comprehensive as regards approximating EU environmental legislation. The main reason is that to comply with this is quite unrealistic at the present time. It goes without saying that the emission of pollutants in Romania between 1989 and 1995 (mostly from 1989 to 1990) has been decreased, but this situation is due more to the notable decrease of economic activity than to the implementation of new environmental legislation.

Council Decision 93/389/EEC - Monitoring mechanism of Community CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions

Proposal for a Council Directive 94/C 216/04, Ambient air quality assessment and management

Council Directive 70/220/EEC - Emission from motor vehicles

Council Directive 82/884/EEC - Lead in air

Council Directive 84/360/EEC - Industrial plants

Council Directive 89/369/EEC - New municipal waste incinerators

Chemicals, industrial risks and biotechnology

M.O. Nr.242/1993 states the National Norms for Nuclear Security and the G.D. Nr.486/1993 is related to the measures to be taken against industrial risks; the deadline to accomplish all the plans for modernizing and repairing of the installations and construction projects which were considered a risk for pollution was 31 October 1994. This deadline should not have been considered realistic, since protection against industrial accidents is rightly considered a permanent issue.

The implementation and result of the plans related to industrial risks is continuing at present, the main achievements being the following:

• Inventory of large point-sources of environmental risk (population, and in general, ecosystems). Assessment of the existing risk is included in the EI Analysis.
• Surveying of construction projects and installations (e.g., large dams are under observation). There are special programs with this issue supported financially by the central government.
• Alarm systems have been already been set up and tested periodically. Local regulations are being implemented on this front and the local authorities (municipalities, Environmental Protection Agencies, AR) are responsible for public information on this issue.

The GD Nr.47 of 1994 sets forth the measures to be taken by natural and legal persons in the event of natural calamities and other accidents. This act calls for the establishment of a Government Commission headed by the prime minister. All details of this regulation are based on the prevention/precaution principle adopted from EU legislation.

The GD Nr.635/1995 includes the measures which must be taken to inform the public about the dangers of natural or industrial accidents, as well as the measures to be taken by the public in these circumstances.

On the whole, components of EU legislation regarding chemicals and industrial risk are reflected in Romanian legislation, but not the provisions concerning biotechnology. No incentive provisions can be found in Romanian legislation to encourage the appliance of biotechnology.

Commission Directive 67/548/EEC - Classification, packaging and labeling of dangerous substances

Council Decision 89/569/EEC - Good Laboratory Practice

Council Directive 90/220/EEC - Genetically modified organisms

Council Regulation EEC/793/93 - Evaluation and control of the risks of existing substances

Nature

Council Directive 79/409/EEC - Conservation of wild birds

Council Directive 92/43/EEC - Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

Although there are some well-defined items regarding fauna protection, definitions of different types of nature reserves and the obligations and responsibilities are incomplete and obsolete in the existing EA (e.g. no reference to flora, only to forests; no biodiversity reference). The draft EPA corresponds more closely to EU legislation, but nature conservation is to be focused on in a special law. Still, some elements of Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 79/409/EEC are taken into consideration. Migratory species are taken into consideration in Act 26/1976 on game and hunting management, Act 81/1993 concerning the compensation of damages in forestry and hunting management, and the Act 82/1992 on the establishment of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.

Biodiversity conservation, as well as natural heritage, are accorded much emphasis in the new EPA. For instance Art.34 states, "The protection of rare species in danger of extinction, biodiversity conservation, the setting up of protected areas, and the measures established by the environmental authority have priority, while other steps are under discussion."

Compensatory and incentive measures as stated by CD 92/43/EEC (e.g. Art. 5.1., Art. 5.4., Art. 8.1. and Art. 8.3) are also addressed by the new EPA (Art.34, Art.58). Art.34 and Art.58 say that lands located in protected areas may be owned only by persons who respect the obligations imposed by the central environmental authority; and that if they will do so, they will be compensated (i.e., by way of tax exemption, or by the state's covering of the cost of ecological reconstruction).

The need for research and public education in the area of nature conservation are not as clearly defined in the new EPA as in EU legislation, but they appear in the National Environmental Action Plan.

The Convention on Biodiversity was signed by Romania in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and it was ratified and promulgated in 1994. The convention provides a good foundation for the construction of specific legislation aimed at biodiversity conservation.

Noise

• EA Nr.9/1973, which provides obliges all natural and legal persons not to exceed the maximum allowable standard limits, as far as the noise emission levels are concerned (Art.37.b, in which the obligation of vehicle modernizing and traffic planning is stated; Art.39 and Art.40, which prohibit noise pollution above allowable emission levels, including emission from vehicles).
• STAS 10009-88, which comprise the maximum allowable values of noise emissions for road traffic, between 60 and 75 dB (A). For zones with different functions, like recreational zones, schools, parking places, railway zones, and hospitals, the levels are between 45 dB (A) and 90 dB (A), the maximum values being established for airports, parking zones and stadiums; the stricter values must be met on the borders between these areas.
• STAS 1957/1-88 and STAS 1957/3 - 88, set forth the definition and terms of relevance in the framework of noise pollution.
• STAS 6161/3 - 82, lays down the methods to determine noise levels in urban areas.
• STAS 6156-86, sets maximum allowable levels of noise inside buildings (e.g., dwellings, households, hotels, hospitals) between 30 dB (A) and 75 dB (A), the maximum values corresponding to dispatcher rooms in industrial work areas.
• STAS 6161/1 - 89, establishes a method to measure noise levels for public works construction sites.

The new EPA does not state very clearly the importance of noise pollution control.

Council Directive 70/157/EEC - Permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles

Council Directive 86/594/EEC - Airborne noise emitted by household appliances

Waste

Under GD Nr.511/1994, waste coming from sulfuric acid and soda ash fabrication, namely pyrite ash and calcium chloride, must be re-used; and further, the Ministry of Industry must offer financial support to this end.

In the new EPA, waste, hazardous waste, and biotechnology are defined in Art.2. Special sections (Section II: Art.15- Art.24 and Section III: Art.25 - Art.28) are dedicated to chemicals, chemical fertilizers, the manufacture of pesticides, as well as transport and use conditions.

Council Directive 75/442/EEC - Waste Framework

As far as the new legislative action is concerned, it appears that the coercive component (command-and-control) is almost exclusively present. No encouragement is provided for natural or legal persons who contribute to the prevention or reduction of waste production, or to recover waste by means of recycling or re-use, or to use waste as a source of energy (as provided for in Directive 75/442/EEC).

Generally, the new law stipulates obligations and responsibilities. Only Art.64 from the new EPA provides that the central environmental authority might propose to the government some incentives (like tax exemption) to natural and legal persons who would take measures for a sound waste management system.

The issues of competencies, permits, and planning are quite well covered by Romanian legislation in EPA.

Council Directive 91/689/EEC - Hazardous waste

Council Directive 85/339/EEC - Containers of liquids for human consumption

Council Directive 94/67/EC - Incineration of hazardous waste

Proposal for a Council Directive 93/C 212/02, Landfill of waste

Water

Water abstraction and use, waste water discharge, as well as hydraulic structures, are permitted with the approval of MWFEP and AR, depending on the size of the work; the competencies are mentioned in MO Nr.715/1991.

Authorization to abstract and to use natural water must be obtained in the first stage of planning future work. This authorization is a component of the environmental 'consent and authorization' (MO Nr.715/1991).

The 'Polluter Pays' principle is applied by obliging the natural or legal person to pay a tax according to the pollutant quantity discharged in the given river. Those exceeding contracted pollution levels must pay penalties. All these regulations are established by GD Nr.1001/1994. GD Nr.138/1994 provides the conditions under which penalties may be imposed and the amount of money to be paid by natural or legal persons, unless their case is deemed worthy of judgment under criminal law.

Surface waters are classified according to their quality by STAS 4706-88 in three categories. The first category, with specified characteristics, is that of water suitable for drinking purposes (minimum requirements for drinking water quality presented in STAS 1342-91).

Council Directive 75/440/EEC - Surface water for drinking

Council Directive 76/160/EEC - Quality of bathing water

Council Directive 76/464/EEC - Dangerous substance discharges

The list of groups of substances considered dangerous does not coincide, however, with List I from the annex of Directive 76/464/EEC. Further, there are no standards or other specific regulations for discharging into groundwater, lakes or the sea.

Council Directive 80/68/EEC - Protection of groundwater against pollution

Proposal for a Council Directive 94/C 222/06, Ecological quality of water