Contaminated Lands – Country Profile Slovakia

RNDr. Vlasta Jánová

Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic

Results of detail analyses of present practise:

• System less approach to the problem

• Lack of information related to the sources of contamination

• Imperfect and non-uniform system of dispatching priority and control

• Missing legislation

• Shortage of finances

Conceptual framework programme for Environmental Damages Remediation

The main goals :

1. design of legislative framework for environmental damages

2. creation of information system for all sources of contamination

3. improvement the administrative system of contaminated localities mmanagement

4. support of investigation and remediation of contaminated localities

5. design of financial mechanism for realisation of remediation

6. inspection of efficiency

1. IPPC

• Implementation of the IPPC Directive has been realized by the Act No. 245/2003 on IPPC (valid since 19 June 2003).

• In frame of this Act, the Information system of the IPPC was established, and it includes:

- register of operators and facilities arising under the IPPC- register of issued integrated licenses- emissions and monitoring results yearly reported by

operators- standards of life quality in Slovak Republic- BAT for each industrial branch and type of facility- register of licensed persons

2. National programme

National programme on contaminated lands does not exist up till now.

• It has been incorporated into a proposal of the Act on environmental burden (e.g. contaminated sites), which is just inprocess of preparation.

• a) In case that old landfills are the source of contamination, these sites fall under the rule of the Programme of waste management. Database of old landfills is available – it contains information about 8349 localities. Of course, only some of them can be defined as sources of contamination.

• b) NEAP II – National Environmental Operational Plan –involves specific projects on elimination of environmental burden.

Database of old landfills

Database of old landfills

• Inventory was carried out in 1993-97• 8349 landfills were identified• The maps of land suitability for dumping have

been compiled in scale of 1:50 000 for each district

• Database is updated yearly by district authorities

• Original methodology for risk assessment of landfills has been developed

Database of old environmental burden (1666 localities)

Information system of environmental burden

• Creation of database started in 2000

• Based on information reported by district authorities

• 1666 potential sources of contamination have been identified

• Estimated costs for remediation are about 210 million EUR

• Database is updated yearly

Database of old environmental burden and other sources of information

Database of old environmental damages (1666 localities)

Database of waste dumps - 8349 localities

Controlled waste dumps (152)

Waste dumps (908) Waste dumps out of operation (625)

Industrial waste (49) Local waste dumps - unlicensed (3184)

Mining waste (55) Waste dumps lap by soil (1290)

Biological waste (9) Removed waste dumps (1050)

Chemical waste, heavy metals, oil (75)

Reclamation (7)

Military waste(6) Remediation (216)

Waste without specification (564)

Waste dumps of small proportions -1830)

Database of old mining works - 17 260 localities

3. Data acquisitiona) Integration of existing databases has not been realized up till now

The unified database should be established at least in March 2004. b) Monitoring networks:- monitoring of the most important mining localities,- monitoring of selected old landfills with hazardous waste,- monitoring of all sludge- monitoring of buried anthropogenetic sediments (covered landfills),- monitoring of agricultural soils,- monitoring of waters and the others.c) New field campaign:- There is a great need for a new field campaign because of lack of

information about industrial facilities, pollution from railways, army, agriculture, old gasoline stations a the others.

- Partly the new inventory will be realized through all projects focusing to engineering-geological and environmental mapping supported by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic.

4. Database management

• Database management is governed by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic and by the Geological Survey of the Slovak Republic.

• New structure of national inventory has been proposed. Inventory listconsists of:

• a) general information about locality• b) information about property• c) information about activity• d) geomorphology, geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, biology• e) characteristic of sources of contamination (facility)• f) contaminated soils• g) contaminated groundwater• h) risk assessment.

The new inventory list is just tested in field and the results will be available in January 2004.

5. Classification and assessment systems for ranking priorities of decontamination

actions

a) system for preliminary and final prioritisation has been proposed,

b) goal of preliminary prioritisation is: to indicate the localities where is the need for detailed investigation,

c) final prioritisation is based on risk assessment techniques,

d) classification and assessment system is just tested.

6. Risk assessment instruments

Used only for mining sites at present

7. Other decision-making mechanisms

a) Decontamination from old landfills is supported by the Environmental Fund. Decision-making mechanism is based on strict criteria. Responsibility for contaminated sites elimination is ruled by the Programme of waste management.

• b) Decontamination of other contaminated sites will be realized according being prepared Integrated programme of environ-mental burden elimination.

• c) Public participation in this process is defined in Act on wasteand will be defined in prepared Act on environmental burden. According existing legislation, executive administration is obligatory to access the proposals of Programmes of waste management in public place for 30 days. Public can annotate the Programmes and suggestions have to be considered.

8. Financial funding mechanisms

Up till now, the inventory of contaminated sites has been covered by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, Division of Geology and Natural Resources, e.g. from central budget.

The plan is to realize new inventory throughout relevant sectors. The financial funding mechanism of decontamination actions has not been created till now. Some actions are financed from central budget, some from the Environmental Fund.

In draft of the Act on environmental burden is proposed to finance decontamination throughout relevant sectors, e.g. industrial contamination by the Ministry of Economy, agricultural contamination by the Ministry of the Agriculture, etc.

Financing

Ye a r Number of proje c ts Support (million SK) e.g. in EURO 1996 41 31,5 787 5001997 49 34,1 852 5001998 36 40,4 1 031 0001999 0 0 02000 44 63,2 1 580 0002001 55 70,8 1 770 0002002 2 0,86 21 500

plan 2003 200 5 000 000

Ye a r Number of proje c ts Support (million SK) e.g. in EURO 1998 1 1,3 32 5001999 3 2,6 65 0002000 3 2,65 66 2502001 4 4,7 117 5002002 3 4,7 117 500

plan 2003 3 5 125 000

Support o f remediation pro jects

Support o f regional inves tigation pro jects

9. Regulatory authority framework

???

10. Legislation

? ? Act No. 17/1992 Coll. on Environment as amended by the Act No. 127/1994 Coll., Act No. 2871994 Coll., Act No. 171/1998 Coll. And Act No. 211/2000 Coll.

? ? Act No. 184/2002 Coll. on Water (The Water Act) and on Amendments of Certain Acts.

? ? Decree No. 556/2002 Coll. of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic on Implementing Certain Provisions of the Act on Water.

? ? Act No. 223/2001 Coll. on Waste and on Amendments of Certain Acts as amended by Act No. 553/2001 Coll.

? ? Act No. 543/2002 Coll. on Nature and Landscape Protection.? ? Act No. 245/2003 Col. on Integrated Pollution Prevention and

Control.? ? Act No. 307/ 1992 Coll. on Agricultural Soils Protection.

Definitions

Definitions suggested in proposal of the Act on environmental burden:

- Soil – incoherent or partly coherent upper part of rock environment. For the purpose of this Act, as soils we understand gravels, sands, loams, clays and similar sediments, which can be quarried from the surface.

- Contaminated soil – soil, which quality is degraded to the level, when negative influence on human health or on individual parts of the environment cannot be excluded.

- Contaminated site – space, where the criteria of contamination are exceeded.

11. Specific legislation on soil contamination

Specific legislation on soil contamination is in process of preparation. It will include quality standards, intervention and indication limits and natural background values.

12. Diffuse source pollution

National strategy concerning diffuse source pollution and immission - in process of preparation.

13. Monitoring systems of soil quality

• There is only monitoring of agricultural soil available – 637 measuring point all over the Slovak Republic

• Monitoring of active stream sediments.

14. Regulations on liability and sanctions

? ? Act No. 184/2002 Coll. on Water (The Water Act) and on Amendments of Certain Acts.

? ? Act No. 307/ 1992 Coll. on Agricultural Soils Protection.

? ? Act No. 223/2001 Coll. on Waste and on Amendments of Certain Acts as amended by Act No. 553/2001 Coll.

? ? Proposal of the Act on environmental burden.

? ? Act No. 17/1992 Coll. on Environment as amended by the Act No. 127/1994 Coll., Act No. 2871994 Coll., Act No. 171/1998 Coll. And Act No. 211/2000 Coll.

? ? Criminal code.

15. Land use planning

• Decree No. 55/2001 on land use planning does not consider contaminated lands.

• Generally, land use planning documentation should include results of investigations and analyses of the environment.

• Some of them, e.g. land use planning documentation of Bratislava region includes – gradual elimination of illegal landfills and other old environmental burden.

16. Transfer of contaminated lands

• Control of the transfer of the land does not require assessment of the contamination associated with the property.

• Two acts require assessment of past contamination:

• Privatisation Act - requires that during process of privatisation of state owned enterprises assessment of environmental debt is performed.Ministries of Environment and Economy issued a guidance for such an assessment. Within a broader assessment (compliance with legislation in water, waste management, air pollution control etc.) also historical contamination is to be assessed. For such an assessment the guidance provides contamination criteria (A,B,C limits). The Act itself does not specify further steps leading to remediation.

• Bankruptcy Act 328/1991– the act requires bankrupt to assess besides other debts also damages to environment.

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