site.btaSupreme Administrative Court Revokes Emissions Derogation for Maritsa East 2 Power Plant

Bulgaria’s Supreme Administrative Court announced Monday that it has revoked an emissions derogation granted to the state-owned coal-fired power plant Maritsa East 2 TPP following a series of legal challenges brought by the environmental organizations For the Earth and Greenpeace Bulgaria. Environmental groups welcomed the ruling, describing it as a landmark decision for public health and environmental protection in Bulgaria.

According to a post on the Greenpeace Bulgaria website, Maritsa East 2 TPP had been allowed to emit sulfur dioxide at nearly twice the permitted level and mercury at more than four times the legal limit, without a deadline or a concrete plan to reduce harmful emissions.

The Monday court ruling is final and upholds an earlier decision by the Administrative Court in Stara Zagora, which annulled a December 21, 2018 decision by the executive director of Bulgaria’s Executive Environment Agency to update the plant’s integrated permit.

The dispute centered on a derogation allowing the state-owned thermal power plant to deviate from European Union environmental standards concerning sulfur dioxide emissions.

According to the court, the ruling fully complies with a judgment issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-375/21, following a preliminary reference submitted during the proceedings.

The Supreme Administrative Court found the environmental authority’s decision unlawful because it failed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative effects of pollution and did not take into account all relevant scientific data. The judges also concluded that the derogation contradicted measures included in the active air quality plan of the municipality of Galabovo and failed to meet EU legal requirements governing such exemptions.

The case has gone through several rounds of litigation. In 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court overturned an earlier ruling by the Administrative Court in Stara Zagora and ordered the case to be reheard by a different panel due to significant procedural violations.

The lower court had initially rejected the appeal filed by For the Earth – Access to Justice against the 2018 decision updating the integrated permit of Maritsa East 2 TPP.

"This is a turning point for the right of Bulgarian citizens to clean air and a healthy environment," said Meglena Antonova, director of Greenpeace Bulgaria.

She added that the Supreme Administrative Court ruling "sends a clear signal that Bulgarian institutions can no longer ignore the law and people’s health in the name of polluting technologies and political dividends".

She called on the government, including the Environment Agency and the Ministry of Environment and Water, to develop a plan with specific conditions and deadlines that would determine how the power plant operates in the future.

“It is time for the workers at the plant to receive a realistic outlook for the future of their jobs, while the government actively works to provide alternatives,” Antonova added.