Municipal air quality programs will be able to be challenged in court

Municipal programs for improving the quality of atmospheric air can be challenged under Art. 27 of the Law on the Purity of Atmospheric Air and in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Code. This is clear from a message of the Council of Ministers to the media. That decision was written into government-approved changes to the Clean Air Act.

A ban on making available on the market, including through online sales, fluorinated greenhouse gas containers that cannot be refilled (vials, bottles, tanks) is introduced.

Ban the sale of containers for fluorinated greenhouse gases

Advertising of fluorine-containing greenhouse gases is also prohibited without specific requirements being met. The prohibitions are aimed at stopping the cases of illegal supply of fluorine-containing greenhouse gases in disposable containers for distribution and use on the territory of the country. The new texts comply with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 on fluorine-containing greenhouse gases.

Reduce the administrative burden on operators of medium combustion plants and solvent plants

The changes reduce the administrative burden on foreign operators of medium combustion plants and solvent plant operators by removing the requirement to present a document certifying their legal status when registering these plants. The requirement for a document for a paid fee is also waived, when the payment was made electronically by operators who applied for the issuance of a permit for certain volatile organic compounds and for the issuance of an order by the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology for authorization or refusal to carry out checks on the effectiveness of the systems, corresponding to Stage II capture of gasoline vapors.

The new texts apply an EU regulation and define the market surveillance authorities and their powers regarding: the quality of gasoline and diesel fuels; the reduction of emissions of volatile organic compounds, which are due to the use of organic solvents in some varnishes and paints and in vehicle repainting products; ozone-depleting substances and fluorine-containing greenhouse gases; management of chemical substances on their own, in mixtures or in articles and/or mixtures.