site.btaEnvironment Minister: Kronospan Has Pledged to Invest about BGN 20 Mln in Environmental Equipment

Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov told the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Water that the wood processing company Kronospan has pledged to invest around BGN 20 million in new environmental equipment. He made the statement in response to a question from MP Yavor Bozhankov (Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria) about measures to address the environmental issues at the company’s facility in Veliko Tarnovo.

Genov recalled that irregularities had been found at the site and that the company was subject to an administrative order to cease operations. The measure was imposed because certain packaging lines were not included in the company’s integrated environmental permit, he added.

The Environment Ministry shut down the facility of Kronospan Bulgaria in Veliko Tarnovo on October 1. Stanislav Stanchev, head of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Veliko Tarnovo, issued an order to halt the operation of a substrate cutting line. Immediately afterwards, experts from the inspectorate conducted an unscheduled inspection of the wood panel production installation and sealed the air supply valve to the production line.

Genov said that Kronospan has since filed an appeal against the preliminary administrative measure, and the case has been referred to the Burgas Administrative Court.

Deputy Environment Minister Reneta Koleva added that more than 47 inspections have been carried out since the start of the year, over 40 of which were unannounced. The inspections confirmed air quality violations, and a mobile laboratory was deployed to monitor the emissions. Koleva said the company had committed to installing additional biofilters within two weeks, with further actions planned to address the issue.

On November 11, GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader and Parliamentary Health Committee Chair Kostadin Angelov gave the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) in Veliko Tarnovo a seven-day deadline to resolve the town’s air quality problems caused by emissions from the local industrial plant Kronospan Bulgaria.