Articles 69 and 70 of Bulgaria’s Environmental Protection Act set forth sanctions for environmental damage or pollution in excess of the permissible levels (including non-compliance with emission limit set in permits). The sanctions can be imposed on legal or natural persons.
The Act also provides incentives for violators to come into compliance. Should the persons penalised take action to comply with the established emission limits, for example by developing an investment programme to install the necessary pollution control technology, the said persons only have to pay 10 percent of the fines that would otherwise be due. Usually, this is done by preparing a programme to reduce pollution, which the Ministry of Environment and Water approves. The specific terms and procedure for reduction of the sanctions due are established by regulation. The actual programmes contain confidentiality clauses to protect trade secrets, and in practice they are not made available to the public. Programmes have been adopted by several enterprises in Bulgaria to bring them back into compliance.
There is a strong control system to ensure that a company fulfils the obligations of the compliance programme. If the programme is not implemented in due course, the Minister of Environment and Water shall decree payment of the monthly sanction due in a treble (3X) amount for the entire initial period. It is not possible to extend the time limits for implementing a programme approved by the Minister. The respective Regional Inspectorates on Environment and Water are responsible for control and monitoring functions, but there are also visits on site by experts from the Ministry.
For more information, contact KrapS@moew.government.bg