• The RIEW to issue a prescription to Kronoshpan to change its complex permit and increase the emissions requirements on the operator's work

The Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) is tightening its control over enterprises in Veliko Tarnovo due to the numerous signals for industrial air pollution in the city. This was stated by the Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov at a briefing after a working meeting with the Mayor of the Municipality Daniel Panov, the Regional Governor Yulia Likomanova-Mutafchieva, the Director of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water – Veliko Tarnovo Stanislav Stanchev, MPs from the region, and municipal councilors.

The Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water – Veliko Tarnovo will today hand over a prescription to Kronoshpan Bulgaria EOOD to apply for a change the complex permit under which the company operates. The purpose of the update is to increase the requirements regarding the norms for permissible emissions in the operator’s work.

Within one week, the company must submit to the Executive Environment Agency (EEA) a proposal for a change in the operation of the installations. "If this prescription is not implemented, an ex officio opening of the procedure for changing the complex permit will be requested and the methods and conditions under which work is currently being carried out will be reviewed," explained Minister Genov.

He defined the problem of air pollution from this production as a "harassment" on the residents of Veliko Tarnovo and made a commitment on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Water and the External Environment Agency to fulfill the requirements of the law as soon as possible, so as to guarantee a healthy living environment.

"In the event of an opinion from a health authority - for example, the Regional Health Inspectorate - that there is a threat to the health of citizens, a compulsory administrative measure may be imposed on our part, i.e. the activity of the enterprise may be temporarily suspended until it is guaranteed that there is no harm to people's health," stated Minister Manol Genov. He expressed the position that the problem can be solved jointly with efforts by the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Health, thereby relying on the control functions of the Regional Health Inspectorate and the Regional Health Inspectorate.

Minister Genov recalled that he initiated a change in the leadership of the eco-inspection a few months ago precisely because he identified gaps in control.

Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Reneta Koleva announced that by the end of the year, Veliko Tarnovo will have a new measuring station, which is mobile and can be placed wherever necessary. The station will cover a much wider range of indicators for monitoring the quality of atmospheric air.

Today, Minister Manol Genov also participated in a meeting on the state of water resources in the region together with Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov and Regional Minister Ivan Ivanov. They assured the media that there will be no water regime in Veliko Tarnovo, refuting claims about upcoming problems with the city's drinking and domestic water supply. Minister Genov announced that the Yovkovtsi dam’s volume is currently 52% full, for comparison, in 2002 the level was only 30%.