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 Act:“Strategic 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 anarea under the jurisdiction of a Party, caused by a proposed activity the physical origin ofwhich is situated wholly or in part within the area under the jurisdiction of anotherParty; • “Party of origin” –Contracting Party or Parties to this Convention under whosejurisdiction 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 beaffected by the transboundary impact of a proposed activity or plan/program; • “Concerned Parties” – the Party of origin and the affected Party of anenvironmental 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/;