Impact of support structures resulting in significant change in the environmental status on the fulfilment of EU obligat

1. Dr. Endre Tombácz, Márta Scheer, Emőke Magyar 2013. ÖKO ZRt. Impact of support structures resulting in significant change in the environmental status on the fulfilment of EU obligations and national objectives

2. Build-up of the presentation • Aims and subject of the evaluation • Examples of the projects’ evaluation (transportation, tourism, etc.), along with highlighting a few problems • Example of the evaluation’s priority areas • Lessons, conclusions of the evaluation • Proposals regarding the next planning period

3. Aim of the evaluation Estimation of the environmental impacts of projects expected to have significant environmental impacts Questions of the evaluation: • What kinds of impacts will the developments have on the realization of the national aims and the EU’s environmental requirements? • What kinds of further aims and tasks are to be set in view of the impacts? • Have new problems to be solved been generated by the interventions? • Considering the success of those used in the past, what kinds of tools are needed in order to solve the problems and to reach the aims? • How can the undesirable environmental and sustainability impacts be avoided? Proposals regarding the planning of the next period

4. Development areas evaluated Evaluated areas: • Development of transport • Economic development • Tourism development • Energy projects • Settlement development • Water protection • Waste management • Protection of human health and life • Nature Conservation

5. Priorityareas of theevaluation Three areas being in the focus of the EU’s endeavour have been given priority: • Adaptation to climate change, energy production and consumption • Impacts on the surface- and groundwaters from the viewpoint of the EU Water Framework Directive’s (WFD) and the Hungarian National River Basin Management Plan’s (NRBMP) fulfilment • Impacts of the OPs on the change of the statuses needed by nature protection and the fulfilment of the objectives of conservation

6. Evaluation of transportationprojects 1. Nowadays, transportation is one of the most dangerous activities in respect of the status of the environment Aim:the interventions should mitigate the traffic-increasing impact of other support structures too Problems in relation to the motorway network development projects: • Besides the ecological and land reservation problems rainwater drainage problemson plains too • Frequent collision with Natura 2000 sites • As a result of the increase in the traffic, proportion of road traffic increases as compared to the other kinds of transportation • Traffic fills up all the available space (modernisation, road widening, etc.), other sectors’ diverting effect is weak

7. Evaluation of transport projects 2. Positive impacts • Accident risk reduction • Decrease in the emission of air pollutants (especially greenhouse gases) as a result of the reduction of the travelled distance • As a result of the realisation of bypasses noise, vibration, and annoyance are reduced in the most loaded areas (Instead of public road development, better results could be achieved globally by ensuring higher rate of support for the more environmentally friendly ways of transport.)

8. Evaluation of transport projects 3. An example of the conflicts: Derecske bypass section of the M35 motorway : Western path: lands of good quality, farmers hold on to these lands Eastern path: protected – to be avoided, the one farther east is a Natura 2000 site – also problematic At present the opinion of the European commission is being waited for – long licensing

9. Economicdevelopmentprojects 1. Problemsfromtheviewpoint of sustainabledevelopment: • The biggestamounts of assistanceweretakenbylarger, oftenmultinationalcompanies and theenterprisesworkingforthem (seehighproportion of developmentsoftheautomotiveindustry) • The beneficiariesaremainlycities – thisfurtherenhancesthedifferences, however, inthecase of brownfieldinvestmentsorinvestmentsinexistingsitesgreenareasaresaved Favourable: • The amount of assistancewashigherinthecase of certain, partlyunderdeveloped, partlydevelopedcountries

10. Economicdevelopmentprojects 2. The situation is better from the viewpoint of environmental impacts: • Mainly sectors that are not typically of a polluting character, that do not load the environment were developed • Technology development was characteristic of this priority, emissions and energy consumption are reduced by the more up-to-date technologies introduced • At the same time, increasing the capacities results in the increase in emissions and energy consumption • The realization of environmental technologies is especially favourable and should be emphasized more

11. Tourism development projects More than 60 spa or spa hotel developments for about HUF 50 billion among the larger projects. Problems: • According to the NRBMP: in the case of porous thermal aquifers in plains a significant sinking trend is indicated by monitoring wells and geothermal production wells in certain centres • Waters abstracted from porous thermal water bodies are mainly utilized as bathing water and for energetic purposes (in the later case mostly without reinjection)

12. Energy projects 1. The majority of projects related to the use of renewable energy or energy efficiency resulted in generally beneficial impacts both from environmental and sustainability aspects, with the exception of biomass use where environmental impacts are not always viewed positively. Environmental issues raised: • Most of the projects used solar energy and biomass as renewable sources; geothermal energy was only rarely used. • To utilize solar energy, typically PV panels and solar collectors were applied. Biomass was directly combusted or primary biomass was converted into secondary fuels and then these were converted into electricity or heat. • Energy derived from biomass is only environmentally friendly because it is a renewable and not a fossil energy source. This is environmentally favourable when waste is utilized, but it is problematic in the case of agricultural production

13. Energy projects 2. Problems of biomass combustion • The formation of large monocultures is detrimental from the viewpoint of biodiversity • Possibility of increased usage of chemicals • Emissions of air pollutants depending on the composition of the raw materials (it is characteristic of the smaller biomass furnaces that the technology can only be applied to a certain kind of fuel (e.g. wood chips) but all kinds of combustible materials are introduced) • Huge transportation demand (between the power plant and the place of waste generation/production), that might entail significant loading (air-, noise-, vibration load, GHG emission and fuel consumption) • Projects utilizing their own wastes are the most favourable ones • Environmentally, biomass is still more preferredforcombustionthanfossilefuels. Replacingthelatteroneswould be an importanttask.

14. Waste water treatment projects 1. Favourablefromtheviewpoint of theenvironment: • The rate of urbanwastewatercollection and treatment is rapidlyincreasinginthe country as a result of theongoingWasteWaterProgramme • Results of theprogrammearedetectableeverywhere, wheresurfacewatercourseswereloadeddirectlybyuntreatedwastewatersearlier • It is equallyeffectivefromtheviewpoint of thepreservation, improvementofthe status of groundwatersiftheseweredetectablyloadedbytheuncontrolleddisposalofwastewatersintotheground.

15. Wastewatertreatmentprojects /2. Environmentalrisks: Inthecase of thoseagglomerations, wherepreviously no wastewatertreatmentplantwasoperatedthefollowingconclusionsweredrawnonthebasis of theevaluation: • Inthecase of receivingwatersofweakormoderateecological status discharge of newflowsoftreatedwastewater is questionable • Inthecase of most projectsthewastewaterdischargemightresultinthefurtherdeterioration of thereceivingwater’s status • CanalIIupstreamfromthe Izsák WastewaterTreatmentPlant... and downstream

16. Lessons of the evaluation 1. • Forecasts of thepreviousStrategicEnvironmentalAssessmentswereappropriatenevertheless, inrealityotherimpactsoccurredtoo. • The impacts of theevaluatedsupportsystem’s developmentswerefavourableonthewholefromtheviewpoint of environmentalprotection, buttherate of improvementinthe status of theenvironmentwasnotashighasitwouldhavebeenjustifiedbytheexpenditures • No realadvancecan be detectedfromtheviewpoint of sustainability • Asforthe EEOP, welagbehindinrespect of thefulfilmentofouraims and obligations(inspite of thefactthattheimpactswerefavourableonthewhole, thereareareareaswherethesituationdeteriorated: e.g. status of smallwatercourses, biomasscombustion), less improvementthanneeded

17. Example of the summaries: Conservation 1. No significantenvironmentalproblemsarecausedbythe OP’s developmentsthemselves. Exceptions: • Motorway and publicroaddevelopment ≈ 500 km fragmentation • Tourismdevelopments ≈ 1000 projectsiftheloadability of theenvironment is exceeded • Biomasscombustionair pollution, landoccupation, loss of biodiversity(monoculture) • Greenfieldinvestmentsoccupyingbioligicallyactivesurfaces

18. Example of the summaries: Conservation 2. New, 34.6 km long section of M43 motorway between Szeged and Makó

19. Example of the summaries : Conservation 3. The newly-opened Debrecen bypass crosses a Natura 2000 site

20. Example of the summaries : Conservation 4. Natura 2000 affectedness • If an activity is not liable to impact assessment the authority not necessarily becomes aware of the intervention → the activity might have disadvantageous consequences on biodiversity • If a Natura2000 site is affected by an intervention, the project might be rejected by the authority, in spite of the fact that there is no value to be protected on the affected parcel of land, that is the biodiversity is not hurt.

21. Example of the summaries : Conservation 5. Gemenc, territory of the DDNPD, Natura 2000 site: conversion of a hostel into a heated guesthouse (Érsekcsanád, Veránka Island)

22. Example of the summaries: Conservation 6. Licensing • If the opinion of the national park directorate is asked for : • Sometimes it is too late, as there are already elaborated plans and the Applicants think that the successful utilization of the EU sources are hindered by the licensing authority • Sometimes it is too early, when nothing yet is known about the way of the realization • Two reconciliations with the green authority are suggested (if necessary with the national park): a screening, in order to decide whether the realization has conservational obstacles or not, and later another one in order to reconciliate the way of the realization

23. Example of the summaries : Conservation 7. Results of nature protection  • Extent of areas that can be involved in landscape management ≈ 80 thousand hectares • Habitat reconstruction ≈ on 60 thousand hectares • ca. 100-120 thousand hectares are affected by the transformation of linear infrastructure • Interventions of complex water protection on areas with the country’s important natural values on several ten thousand hectares

24. Example of the summaries: Conservation 8. Shortcomings: • Aspects of conservation are mostly not integrated in the OP support structures (exception: projects of complex water protection and landscape management, containing nature protection elements too) • Our efforts to preserve biodiversity cannot be successful if it is primarily expected from the support structures of the Preservation of our natural values priority axis

25. Conclusions of theevaluation 2. • TOP and related ROP support structures: several projects serving for the reduction of loads, however the traffic-increasing effect of the public road developments cannot be counterweighted • Enhancing safety is a successful element of the projects • From a territorial viewpoint, most of the developments go to the capital or to the larger, more industrialized towns • In theory, more support was given to the undeveloped regions, especially if there was a larger city in their territory (these usually used up all the possibilities) • GOP and related ROP developments: no significant environmental problems, those problems that occurred are mainly local, unique problems (no problems characteristic of these projects were detected by the environmental authorities) Budapest > thewhole of Transdanubia – Győr-Sopron county

26. Proposals of the previous evaluations 1. EEOP • Conformity with the RBMP’s aims is to be taken into account in the course of the evaluation of the action plans • An appropriate strategy on renewable resource-based electric power generation taking into account the environmental impacts as well is still lacking TOP • Environmentally friendly interventions that can be connected to each other (urban public transport – roads within municipality boundaries, railway-cycle path) should be given priority • In the case of the further development of the motorway network, the diversion of transit traffic from Budapest should be aimed

27. Proposals of the previous evaluations 2. ROP • Building in the aims related to the preparation for climate change to the selection criteria would be important in the case of support structures related to urban development and settlement rehabilitation • An environmental criteria in relation to touristic developments is that the given development may not cause such an increase in attendance and traffic (degree, type, length, etc), that might result in the value deterioration of natural or cultural value forming the basis of the given attraction

28. Proposals of the evaluation 1. General questions • Adaptation to climate change should be represented independently, similar to the horizontal principles, in the case of those support structures where this is significant. • Projects affecting the same area should be harmonized within the application system • The number of the environmental indicators should be increased in the case of those developments which are not of environmental character but have significant environmental impacts • Constructions of a complex character should be strengthened

29. Proposals of the evaluation 2. Energy developments • Compared to the favourable Hungarian potentials geothermal energy and ground source heat are unexploited, these should be supported more Waste water treatment • The establishment of economically operated individual solutions or the realization of natural waste water treatment systems should be aimed in sparsely populated areas • As for the sludge, the treatment system should be closed in the case of waste water treatment, and as high utilisation rate as possible should be ensured

30. Proposals of the evaluation 3. Regional drainage and drainage within municipality boundaries: • the tasks should be handled together and more complex project applications should be submitted covering the whole subbasin so as the joint programmes covering the areas within and outside the municipality boundaries could serve water management better than now. • The demand on harmonisation is even broader (flood protection, agricultural water utilisation, fish farming) • At present, projects of drainage within municipality boundaries cover only rainwater drainage and no water management, although the given amount is missing in periods of water-scarcity– this should be taken into account when phrasing the next calls for application • Employing public workers could be a good solution in the case of drainage projects, since they are able to perform the works much more selectively than the machines (see for instance the conservation of old trees fitting into the landscape, eradication of invasive species)

31. Proposals of the evaluation 4. Waste management Preparation for thermal utilization (e.g. MBT) is part of several projects, nevertheless, thermal utilization capacities have not been built out, that is strategic decisions are needed. Recultivation of landfills It is very common that – despite the preliminary surveys – status problems are discovered in the course of the realization. This implies extra expenditure. A more flexible solution is to be found in respect of the financing.

32. Proposals of the evaluation 5. Transport • More emphasis was given to development of environmentally friendly ways of transport than before, nevertheless it is to be strengthened in the next period and - in accordance with the EU directives – the connection of the various ways of transport should be given preference. Drinking water quality improvement • Enjoyability of the water caused problems in some places: all parameters meet the requirements, but it does not taste good. If the factors ruining the enjoyability can be technologically determined, than they should be taken into account in the future.

33. Proposals of the evaluation 6. Economic development (based on international examples) • Evaluation of the principles of sustainability needed to be strengthened in the environmental evaluations: According to an international example the determination and reduction of the so-called water footprint of products, or the support/preference of products produced by means of low water usage, or support/preference of their producers and markets would be possible. • As for the supported projects of development of small size enterprises measures serving for the generalization of energy-saving technologies or technologies using sustainable energy or for the modernisation, realisation of such technologies are advised to be added. The above were phrased in their original forms in relation to economic development projects, however, they can be applied in other areas and in respect of other resource uses too.

34. Thank you for your attention 2013. ÖKO ZRt.