Achievements in IPPC Directive Implementation: problems and constraints

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3rd BERCEN Exchange Programme for the
Environmental Enforcement Agencies and
Inspectorates October, 19-22, 2004 Prague, Czech
Republic
Albania Ministry of Environment
Achievements in IPPC Directive Implementation
problems and constraints
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Ministry of Environment

• Inspectorate of Environment is a new structure
  within the Ministry of Environment.
• It is established in February 2003
• Chief Inspector and three inspectors in MoE
• 40 inspectors in REA

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Inspectorate of Environment

• Goals
• Organization and management of impact
  environmental activities inspection.
• Promoting environmental compliance and
  enforcement of requirements of environmental
  laws.
• Attending the implementation of conditions in a
  permit for activities with environmental impact.
• Attending the implementation of duties from REA-s
• Coordination of activities with other
  inspectorates, with local government and other
  structures.

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Inspectorate of Environment and IPPC Directive

• In frame of BERCEN Training Programme for IPPC
  Directive
• On Dec. 17-18, 2003, in coorporation with REC
  Country Office in Albania, a training program is
  organised about the IPPC Directive and
  implementation level in Albania .
• Inspectors - participants in BERCEN Training
  Programme, together with specialists of
  Prevention Pollution Directorate prepared and
  delivered the training materials.

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Implementation level of IPPC Directivein Albania
.

• Still a long way to go on implementation of IPPC
  Directive
• Achievements in legislation and the future
  prospective
• Problems and constraints

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Legislation approximation

• The basic environmental laws that have been
  approved since 2002,related with IPPC
  implementation.
• On environmental protection
• On air protection from pollution
• On the environmental management of solid waste
• On the environmental treatment of the polluted
  waters
• On environmental impact assessment (EIA)
• Decisions of the Council of Ministers
• On the environmental monitoring in Albania
• On the norms on gaseous emissions
• On the establishment of the Environment Institute
  
• On the certification of the experts for the
  Environmental Impact Assessment and the
  Environmental Auditting
• On the documentation required when applying for
  the environmental licence and the elements it
  should contain

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Strengthening of the environmental impact
assessment system

• Permit conditions
• Details on the safeguards against discharges in
  every discharging joint and in total for the
  entire activity cited against discharging norms.
• Requirements for the implementation of the
  monitoring program including indicators of
  condition, impact, stations of sample extraction
  and frequency and method of measurement or
  estimation, forms of presentation and
  registration of data.
• Identification of measures for reduction of
  consumption of water, primary materials, energy
  and improvement of technology along the lines of
  a program developed for this purpose.
• The obligation to submit once very three months
  the monitoring data from the regional
  environmental agencies and publish these once a
  year.

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Strengthening of the environmental impact
assessment system

• Definition of measures and schedules for the
  rehabilitation of the damaged or polluted
  environment.
• Measures for treatment of waste and hazardous
  waste produced by the activity.
• Obligatory restoration measures in the event of
  activity shutting down.
• Deadline for renewal of the environmental
  license and expiration of the license in case the
  activity stops.
• The obligation for carrying out environmental
  assessments.
• The obligation to implement the requirements
  contained in the license.

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Strengthening of the EIA system

• Requirements of the Self-monitoring Programme
• Methodologies of calculation of discharges based
  in capacities and technologies of activities
• Sorts and quantity of waited charges
• Joints, processes and plants discharging into
  air, water, soil
• The points where the measures to be carried out
  for each discharge
• Frequency and the sort of measurement for each
  point of discharge
• Methodology for each measurement
• Measures to be taken about bringing the
  discharges to permitted norms deadlines for the
  implementation.

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Strengthening of the EIA system

• Units, joints, plants where the accident may
  occur and the preventing measures
• The emergency plan with detailed measures to deal
  with a possible accident
• Sorts and quantity of waste generated by
  activities
• Place and rules about their temporary deposal in
  activity area
• Time and procedures of final deposal according to
  their sorting
• Sorts and quantity of hazardous waste generated
  by activities, place and rules about their
  temporary deposal packaging, labels and
  transportation for their annihilation

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This legislation aims at

• Establishing contemporaries rules in order to
  protect the environment
• Inclusion into the legislation of new legal terms
  
• Extension of horizontal legislation
• Incorporation into the national legislation of
  the requirements of international conventions and
  protocols
• Incorporation of all EU norms, standards and
  requirements
• Integration of environment in all the sectors of
  life

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Problems and constraints

• The biggest problem is not the development of the
  laws but lack of implementation and enforcement
  of the legislation
• Lack of respect of the law, rooted in the years
  Albania suffered under a repressive dictatorship
• Absence of the ability to measure and monitor
  compliance
• Weak enforcement procedures
• Lack of institutional and administrative
  capacity
• Overleaping and non-clear share of competencies
  among ministries
• MoE is not in charge of resource management.
  Competencies are assigned to other ministries or
  institutions, which are focused more on resource
  use rather than on resource protection
• Shortcomings in the legal and institutional
  framework
• Low level of environmental awareness among the
  public and institutions

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Perspective in the future

• Among the objectives of creation conditions for
  future membership of EU, the government is paying
  special attention on harmonizing the country
  legal framework with the EU acquis communitaire.
• On Oct.7.2004 New project has startedNational
  Plan for Approximation of Legislation. PHARE
• Nov. 2004-2006 New project to start
  Environmental Legislation Planning, including
  IPPC Directive. CARDS
• We would appreciate the assistance on
  implementating the IPPC Directive.

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• Thank You
• for Your Attention