WORKSHOP ON THE BLACK SEA ENVIRONMENT AND OIL SPILL RESPONSE
July, 25 - 27, 2000
Constanta, Romania
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA AND STATUS
OF OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLANNING
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY:
The intense traffic of oil through the Black Sea is an important economical factor, but it is also a source of marine pollution and a potential danger to the recreational areas, fishing industry, sea-birds, marine-life and other sensitive objects. An incident oil spill may cause a serious damage not only to the economics, but also to the environment - it has bad adverse effects on the marine ecosystem.
Recognizing the necessity of an appropriate legislation
concerning the marine environment protection, the Republic of Bulgaria has
signed a number of international agreements. In order to prevent, limit and
eliminate the marine and coastal pollution the Government carries out its
national legislation policy in a manner of active co-operation with all Black
Sea Countries. At present the main operative normative documents in Bulgarian
legislation, concerning the prevention of the Black Sea environment, are:
• the Law for Protection of the Environment, 1987;
• the actualized Sea Spaces Act, 2000.
It is expected that a Law for Protection of the Marine Environment will be adopted very soon. It will include some heightened national requirements in order to limit all the discharges into the Black Sea that are not circumstantially arranged in the International Convention MARPOL 73/78.
Having in mind the fact that the Black Sea is a
"Special Area" Bulgarian environmental policy includes additionally
some strict local and national rules and requirements for pollution prevention.
The problem with the identification and authorization of the united
governmental agency, which to assume the responsibility in a case of oil spill
pollution is already definitively solved. According to the Sea Spaces Act and
the Merchant Shipping Code of the Republic of Bulgaria the Ministry of Transport
and Communications, respectively the Maritime Administration and its structures
is the competent national authority responsible for the marine environment
protection and oil pollution combating in the Bulgarian part of the Black Sea.
An effective system for oil spill preparedness and response requires a good co-ordination
and efforts integration between more institutions. Therefore, it has been
established legislational and organizational framework for co-operation among
the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Environment And
Waters and the Ministry of Defense (Civil Protection Department) involved in
different aspects of counter pollution activities, and Government Committees
for Protection of the Environment and Population in cases of accidents and
disasters.
In compliance with the Convention for Pollution Prevention
of the Black Sea, 1992 (so called Bucharest Convention '92), and the Protocol
to this Convention for immediate actions in case of oil spillsor pollution with
other harmful substances, each of the Black Sea Countries has agreed to work in
a close co-operation with other Countries on the basis of the Black Sea
Regional Contingency Plan. With regard to this, the activities related to oil
spill preparedness, response and co-operation are specified and settled.
However, for the Republic of Bulgaria there is a pressing need to find a proper
solution for the problem with compensation of the damage caused to the
environment and economics by oil pollution. At present our country has not own
national legislation, which definitively to settle questions concerning claims
and compensation of those affected by oil pollution - Bulgaria rely only on a
broader environmental laws originally developed for other purposes. This fact
determines one of the main priorities in the Bulgarian environmental policy -
to ratify as soon as possible the international conventions governing
compensation for oil pollution:
· the Civil
Liability Convention, 1992 (CLC '92);
· the Fund
Convention, 1992 (FC '92).
At present in our country an important matter for
consideration relevant to marine pollution is the ratification of
· the International Convention on Oil
Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, 1990.
This is a necessary action directed to the integration and
harmonization of the Bulgarian legislational framework with the European and
World normative basis concerned with the marine environment prevention. The
OPRC Convention is already translated and disseminated to the appropriate
ministries for consideration and it will be followed by approval by the
National Assembly. It is expected that the ratification of the Convention will
take place at the end of the year 2000.
STATUS OF OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLANNING:
In accordance with article 11 of the Ministerial Declaration
on the, Protection of the Black Sea, 1993 (so called Odessa Declaration '93)
every Black Sea Country is obligated to prepare its National Contingency Plan
on the ground of which to adopt a Regional Contingency Plan for oil spill
pollution prevention of the Black Sea. In that purpose the Draft National
Contingency Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria has been developed by competent
experts on contingency planning. Due to the ongoing changes in the
organizational structures of our national bodies, the approval of the Plan will
be possibly delayed. The Sea Spaces Act, as amended, has a direct impact on the
contingency planning. It is already approved and in the coming months it is
expected that some relative documents concerning the Civil Defense will also be
approved. The reasonable perspectives are that the Bulgarian National
Contingency Plan will be approved and adopted by the Government in September -
October '2000 at the latest.
At present the co-ordination and the whole organization of
the oil spill response activities in Bulgaria is managed mainly by two Regional
Contingency Plans, developed in 1974, revised and updated in 1990:
1. the Regional Contingency Plan for the Port and District
of Varna;
2. the Regional Contingency Plan for the Port and District of Bourgas
.
There are also Local Contingency Plans for the coastal
Municipalities of Shabla, Kavarna, Baltchik and Biala. In addition more similar
Local Plans are going to be developed, in order to ensure the prevention of all
Bulgarian Black Sea Municipalities and also of other objects and areas with
high rate of risk regarding to oil pollution (ports, oil terminals, Exploration
& Production facilities, etc.).
The Regional Contingency Plans for the two Bulgarian biggest ports -Varna and Bourgas, have a well developed communicational structure and coordination among the different links. There are two Emergency Response Teams - one in Varna and one in Bourgas, which combine all available human and technical resources in the regions. OnScene Commanders of the teams are the Port of Varna Harbour Master and the Port of Bourgas Harbour Master.
The implementation of the mentioned above Regional Plans is
in compliance with the Bulgarian legislation and with the international
requirements (MARPOL 73/78, OPRC '90, IMO Manuals on Oil Pollution) They
include ongoing personnel and equipment test programme, which has been
developed in order to assure a quick reaction and an effective response to an oil
spill – practical and theoretical exercises of the Emergency Response Teams are
carried out yearly.
Having in mind that Varna Contingency Plan covers the
Bulgarian coast and the territorial waters from the Romanian border to the
Emine Cape and Bourgas Contingency Plan covers the coast and the territorial
waters from the Emine Cape to the Turkish border, it can be concluded that
those two Plans cover the whole Bulgarian coast and the Black Sea waters in
case of pollution. Although, at the moment there is not an officially approved
National Contingency Plan, the two existing Plans - for Varna and Bourgas are
treated as such and they constitute the Bulgarian Plan. At present they are the
basis for coordination of the on-scene response efforts between local
institutions and Governmental structures, considered as responsible authorities
obliged in oil spill response system and Black Sea environment protection.
July 25, 2000 Veneta
Slavova
Constanta Romania MARPOL Surveyor
Maritime
Administration
Regional
Directorate
Varna, BULGARIA