For four months the MOEW accelerated by 57% the delayed reclamation of municipal landfills within the EU infringement procedure

23 Sep, 2021 | 15:50

 

As a result of the efforts by the team of the Ministry of Environment and Water, the physical implementation of the activities for completion of the projects for reclamation of landfills financed under OPE 2014-2020 and the EMEPA has been accelerated.

 

Only for the period May-September 2021 the technical reclamation of 27 ladfills has been completed in the municipalities of Chelopech, Roman, Breznik, Burgas, Bratsigovo, Koprivshtitsa, Pordim, Chirpan, Vetrino, Treklyano, Gulyantsi, Dolna Mitropolia, Zemen, Kostenets, Kovachevtsi, Pavlikeni, Nevestino – 2 landfills, Dolni Dabnik, Byala (Ruse), Nessebar, Galabovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Kazanlak, Pomorie, Belogradchik, and Samokov, which constitute 57% of the delayed projects. 

 

For comparison, during the entire period of six years (from 2015 when the decision by the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-145/14 was taken until the beginning of May 2021) the technical reclamation of 66 landfills was completed, whereas the reclamation of 47 of the municipal landfills was delayed.

 

In 2015, our country was convicted for continuing the operation and failure to take actions to implement the technical reclamation of a total of 113 municipal landfills. For the term in office of the previous government, the last issued orders for termination of operation of municipal landfills, which do not meet the regulatory requirements, date from December 2017. Despite the clearly defined deadline (December 2020), the years-long neglect of the problem and the slow rates of closure and reclamation of the old municipal landfills, is the direct reason that entailed the notification by the European Commission from 15.07.2021 that our country will face the Court of Justice of the EU for the second time as a result of non-compliance with the court decision in case C -145/14 of 15.07.2015 in order to have the amount of the financial penalty determined.

 

After the efforts made in the last 4 months to reduce the amount of the penalty, Bulgaria will face the court to pay penalties for 24 of the landfills for non-hazardous waste that have not yet been reclaimed.