site.btaKronospan Facility Shut Down Due to Environmental Law Violations

The Ministry of Environment and Water has shut down a facility of Kronospan Bulgaria in Veliko Tarnovo, the ministry said on Wednesday.

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 afterward, experts from the inspectorate conducted an unscheduled inspection of the wood panel production installation and sealed the air supply valve to the production line.

Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD – Burgas is an operator holding an integrated environmental permit No. 570-H0/2018, issued by the Executive Environment Agency. The measure was imposed on a production line located at the company’s site in the Cholakovtsi neighborhood of Veliko Tarnovo.

The enforcement actions followed a visit on Tuesday by t Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov to Veliko Tarnovo. During a working meeting with the Mayo Daniel Panov, the regional administration, members of parliament, and municipal councilors, the minister committed to ensuring that the Ministry, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water and the Environment Executive Agency would implement the legal requirements as swiftly as possible in order to guarantee a healthy living environment.

The goal is to prevent air pollution and the harmful effects of emissions from the facility operation on public health.

The decision comes after inspections revealed that the company’s operations did not comply with the conditions set out in its integrated environmental permit.

The violations committed by the operator consist of operating an emission source on the site that is not authorized for use, and therefore lacks emission monitoring, as well as defined parameters and standards for measurement. The company was instructed to notify the Executive Environment Agency for an update of the integrated environmental permit so that the line in question could be included in compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act. To date, this instruction has not been ignored, the statement says.

It is clear that the environmental oversight authority has already taken procedural actions by using other forms of administrative enforcement provided by law — such as issuing mandatory recommendations, which have clearly failed to achieve the goals of prevention.

The activity will remain suspended until the integrated permit is updated.