Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure in Bulgaria

1
Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment
procedure in Bulgaria

• Bistra Kazandzhieva
• Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters
  Varna, Bulgaria

2
Bulgarian Legal Framework for the application of
the EIA procedure in a transboundary context

• Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in
  a Transboundary context
• Environmental Protection Act
• Regulation on the terms and conditions for
  carrying out EIA of investment proposals for
  construction, activities and technologies
• Regulation on the terms and conditions for
  carrying out Environmental Assessment on
  national, regional, and district development
  plans and programmes, on urban development plans
  and their amendments
• Other agreements between the Republic of Bulgaria
  and affected countries.

3
Environmental Protection Act

• Chapter 6 of the Bulgarian Environmental
  Protection ActStrategic Environmental
  Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment
• Informing the public concerned of the proposal or
  the application of the plan/program at the
  earliest stage of the development-project
  initiative
• Providing access to information to the public and
  the concerned parties, including the
  country/countries that might be affected.

4
Responsibilities of the authorities in EIA/SEA

• The competent authority in Bulgaria, responsible
  for the application of the EIA/SEA procedures in
  transboundary context is the Ministry of
  Environment and Waters
• Other authorities /directors of the RIEW,
  municipalities, district governors, etc./
• They are obliged to duly provide the information
  they have received on the procedures that are
  being carried out and to provide assistance to
  the competent authority and the investors.

5
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Project initiatives with a transboundary impact,
  where the Republic of Bulgaria is the party of
  origin
• Project initiatives with a transboundary impact,
  where the Republic of Bulgaria is the affected
  party

6
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Project initiatives with a transboundary impact,
  where the Republic of Bulgaria is the party of
  origin

7
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Providing information to the competent
  authorities and the public of the affected party
• Providing information to the affected
  country/countries
• An indication of a reasonable time within which a
  response about participation in the procedure is
  required by the respective country
• In case of a negative response from the affected
  country, the procedure laid down in Bulgarian
  legislation is applied

8
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• The next stage is consultations between the two
  countries on the legislative framework of the
  procedure and for providing information about the
  main requirements according to local legislation.
  The time-frame for the duration of the
  consultation period is determined case by case
• Determining the range of information the project
  proponent should include in the EIA report, the
  aspects of transboundary impact and measures to
  avoid or limit the negative impact

9
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Preparing the EIA report
• Evaluation of the quality of the EIA report
• Sending the EIA report to the competent authority
  of the affected country, providing opportunity
  for consultations
• Providing the comments from the consultations to
  the project proponent

10
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Carrying out a public hearing on the EIA report
  attended by representatives from the competent
  authority and the public of the affected Party
• Final decision on the Environmental Impact
  Assessment
• Announcing the decision and communicating it to
  the affected country
• Control on the implementation of the decision on
  EIA
• Informing the affected country about the results
  from the control, in case there is such an
  agreement between the two countries

11
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Project initiatives with a transboundary impact,
  where the Republic of Bulgaria is the affected
  party

12
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Receiving a notification from the country of
  origin about the project initiative
• MoEW communicates its decision within the
  specified time
• If the affected party confirms participation, the
  procedure is carried out in accordance with the
  rules in the country of origin, unless there are
  different provisions in an international
  agreement between the two countries

13
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• The Minister of the environment and water
  provides public access to the information
  received about the EIA and sends all the written
  opinions on the documentation before the
  competent authority of the other country has
  taken the final decision

14
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• In case the Party of origin does not notify the
  affected party about a project proposal with
  possible transboundary impact, the MoEW takes the
  necessary steps to apply to the competent
  authority of the Party of origin for initiating
  consultations and participation in the procedure

15
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• In case of a judgment that a certain
  plan/programme offered for an Environmental
  Assessment has a transboundary impact, the
  Minister of Environment and Water informs the
  proponent and the affected country/countries
• In case of a positive response from the affected
  country, consultations on the following subjects
  are conducted
• The procedure for informing and providing the
  written opinions positions
• Defining a time frame for the consultations
• Providing access to the decision on the EA

16
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• Stages of the procedure when Bulgaria is an
  affected Party
• Receiving a notification from the country of
  origin
• Following the national procedure of the country
  of origin, unless there are different provisions
  in an international agreement between the two
  countries
• The Minister of the Environment and Water
  provides access to the documentation and sends
  the written opinions to the competent authority
  of the country of origin

17
Stages of the Transboundary EIA procedure

• In case the Party of origin does not inform the
  affected Party about a project initiative with
  possible transboundary impact, the MOEW carries
  out the necessary steps before the competent
  authority of the respective country for carrying
  out consultations and participation in the
  procedure

18
Definitions

• Transboundary impact any impact, within an
  area under the jurisdiction of a Party, caused by
  a proposed activity the physical origin of which
  is situated wholly or in part within the area
  under the jurisdiction of another Party
• Party of origin Contracting Party or Parties
  to this Convention under whose jurisdiction the
  proposed activity with a possible transboundary
  impact is envisaged to take place

19
Definitions

• Affected Party the Contracting Party or
  Parties to this Convention likely to be affected
  by the transboundary impact of a proposed
  activity or plan/program
• Concerned Parties the Party of origin and the
  affected Party of an environmental impact
  assessment pursuant to this Convention

20
Problems

• The EIA and SEA procedures are carried out at the
  earliest stage of the project proposal or the
  application of the plan/program, which does not
  guarantee the partial or complete realization of
  the proposal
• The competent authorities, responsible for the
  application of the EIA/SEA procedures in a
  transboundary context are different in the
  different countries /this could lead to
  discrepancy in the procedure/