Romanian environment agency applies EUR 8.5 mln worth of fines in one year

Romania’s National Environmental Guard, the expert authority verifying compliance with environmental laws and regulations, applied nearly 2,000 fines last year, worth a total of over RON 39 million (some EUR 8.5 million), according to its annual activity report. The authority carried out more than 40,600 inspections last year, in the fields of pollution control, biodiversity, biosecurity and protected areas, and gave 1,969 fines and 1,286 warnings. It also issued 237 provisions for temporary suspension of activity and made 54 criminal complaints. Environment commissioners across the country investigated 209 events that led to accidental pollution in 2017. 40 of the accidents have led to water pollution and were mainly caused by leaking wastewater (technological) or household water waste, as well as uncleaned or leaked water from landfills, chemical spills, and inappropriate storage of materials. Another 42 events led to soil pollution, 44 incidents led to air pollution, and in 53 cases the effect was soil, air and water pollution. Romania faces EU sanctions for air pollution levels Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (photo source: Garda Naţională de Mediu on Facebook)