The Ministry of Environment and Water has published for public consultation the Draft Act on Amendments and Supplements to the Water Act.

With the proposed amendments, the monitoring of water, in particular the monitoring of the ecological and chemical status of marine waters, is included in the functions of the body that is legally responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the monitoring system, namely the Executive Environment Agency (EEA). Better coordination between the individual monitoring networks and more effective management of information on the state of waters are created.

The amending and suppplementing act also proposes an amendment to the Environmental Protection Act, which provides for the possibility for the Executive Director of the EEA to issue a price list for the services provided by the agency's laboratories to individuals and legal entities, which price list is to be promptly and easily updated if necessary. The Executive Director of the EEA will be designated as the competent authority to determine the price for the services provided by the accredited laboratories of the EEA.

The participation of public representatives in the consultation is of key importance for ensuring the quality of water legislation. The deadline for submission of opinions is 18 April 2026.

The public consultation documents are published on the public consultation portal of the Council of Ministers - https://www.strategy.bg/bg/public-consultations/12221

 and on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Water: https://www.moew.government.bg/bg/proekt-na-zakon-za-izmenenie-i-dopulnenie-na-zakona-za-vodite-20986/