SOME INFORMATION ON ENFORCEMENT CONCERNING SOLID AND HAZARDOUS WASTES DISPOSAL IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

 

 

KAREL VELEK

 

Czechoslovak Society for Environment

 

The theme of discussion includes Solid and Hazardous Wastes and the actual situation in compliance with and enforcement of current laws and regulations.  To understand this problem better, however, it would be useful to compare it with other environmental media, especially with the problem of water and air protection.

CSFR with its 15 million inhabitants comprises of two republics and has been governed by 100 district councils representing the state government institutions.  Even in this single fact there is something new: only four years ago there existed the two-level system of management under which the concept and special programs were being operated by relatively well equipped regional government institutions of 10 regions (7 of them belonging to the Czech and 3 to the Slovak republic).  The Public Health Service, for example, has maintained its two-level system of management of regional laboratories including the possibility of appealing against the decision of a district public health officer to the regional public health officer.  The district councils have established their own environmental departments analogous to those in larger cities.  Even the small communities have their officials commissioned with executing the environmental policy.  Their number and qualification considerably differs between particular districts.  In former seats of regional authorities there were sometimes some 20 university or high school graduated professionals on water management (it was the strongest group), air pollution, preservation of natural resources and forests and on wastes disposal management.

Due to the geographical reasons (our inland situation determines that with the exception of Danube practically all the rivers spring in CSFR and flow out of the country as well as due to the historical reasons considerable adjustments of the river flows and to some extend also certain wastewater treatment covering wastewaters from towns and industry were necessary as early as at the beginning of this century.  The Hydrological Institute of T. G. Masaryk employing more than a hundred professionals existed before the Second World War already.  Together with the work of the Hydrometeorological Institute and on the large administrative areas operating government authorities this structure provided for a relatively highly qualified system of management.  In the 50ies, the laws and regulations on water preservation were passed and the headquarters and regional inspectorates for state water management inspection were established.  Also established were the headquarters for water basins management.  In that time, this concept was a very progressive one.  This type of organization was known even in the U.S.A., for example, where it was being made use of by several interstate water management agencies responsible for managing river basins in case rivers were forming borders between the U. S. states and it was expected to be more efficient to manage particular river basins as a whole.

Due to the reckless development of heavy industry pushed ahead in accordance with a doubtful idea that Czechoslovakia should have become a "steel heart of the socialist camp" and consequently due to a considerable neglect and transfer of water preservation among minor, second-class problems an overall deterioration of water quality in rivers and basins occurred and in a number of locations even serious damage and threat to the underground waters appeared (Bratislava, Ostrava).  Even among the hydrologists the situation prevailed that constructors of dams were clearly being given preference.  These often undervalued and even suppressed the endeavors of their colleagues-hydrologists aiming at water treatment etc.  This may apply, for example, to the first objections against Gabgikovo-Nagymaros waterworks at the beginning of 60ies.

I am mentioning this history in details on purpose because it demonstrates the fact that even under the relatively qualified state authorities, with the existing strict water treatment standards and subject to the objections of non-governmental organizations (NGO), that is, the fishermen and environmental activists (however, they were not allowed to protest too loudly) practically all our rivers have become polluted up to the degree III and IV.  Industries as well as the socialist agricultural enterprises easily got the exception status when they were not complying with the requirements to build wastewater treatment plants.  Those were, anyway, financed both mostly and insufficiently from state budget.

Probably even more undesirable situation applied to the air pollution.  In this area, not earlier than in the 70ies it was decided that the Ministry of Forest and Water Management (that preferred to operate rather as a production department) should have been responsible also for air pollution monitoring and control).

Denial of the basic principles of heat and electricity using in industry and to a certain extent even in agriculture and towns (e.g. poorly isolated prefabricated blocks of flats and infrastructures) resulted in the fact that together with the former GDR we find ourselves not only at the leading position in per capita energy consumption but also among the countries suffering the worst air pollution.  At the same time, the concentration of energy production based on burning coal containing sulfur in the area of Podkrunoho in Northern Bohemia contributed considerably to a critical state of pollution in these particular areas.  As even in big cities there is a high number of places heated by coal containing 2-3% of sulfur and only in 1993 the cars belonging to firms and not having catalyzers will not be allowed to the centers of Praha and Karlovy Vary, air pollution has been regarded to be our most serious environmental problem.

In 1971 the first attempts were made to prepare The Law on wastes under the condition that the Ministry of Forest and Waster Management would have been equipped appropriately for the control, inspection and management of wastes.  The original draft of this law was returned back to the authors in a way that the top ministerial officials of that time did not dare to try to push it ahead any more.  Officially it was due to formal reasons but most probably it was refused because the reasoned statement in fact openly put down requirements for large investments into the higher-quality sanitary landfills, incinerators, etc.  Only more than ten years later (when all the Western European countries had updated their laws on wastes once or twice already) another round of negotiations started concerning the possibility of passing the law.  Anyway, the suggested idea was rather simplifying the problem reducing it first of all to the possibility of obtaining significant source of raw materials.  The law was even intended to concern just the secondary raw materials and thus it was the Ministry of Industries that was commissioned to prepare its draft.

In that time the efforts of NGO played a considerable role which was a predecessor of currently existing Czechoslovak Society for Environment, whose Working Group for Wastes elaborated and later on, during the two national conferences, also approved the basic principles for the Waste Disposal Act.  This draft including the provisions on prevention, reuse and disposal of wastes as well as on some principles concerning state government authorities was accepted to a considerable extent.  But the complex solution came not before the drafts were prepared after the 1989 revolution having been submitted by the Ministry of Environment and Federal Committee for Environment and supported by the Slovak Commission for Environment that was established later on.  It is necessary to mention within this introductory part that in the period of 1990-92 the environmental responsibilities in Czechoslovakia have been divided among the Federal Committee for Environment (which is responsible - besides the responsibility for nuclear power stations - for various national programs and for the whole agenda of international relations and cooperation), the Czech Ministry of Environment and the Slovak Commission for Environment, the latter two being the executive authorities.  The Czech Department governs, with the help of its 12 territorial divisions (regional offices) 70 district councils, e.g. their environmental departments.

To show how compliance and enforcement should be realized I am mentioning The Principles of Current legislation.  The Act No. 238 of 22nd May 1991 (1) on Wastes includes definition of basic terms.  It includes the principles similar to those of EC and to a considerable extent even to those valid in Austria and Germany (definition of wastes, hazardous wastes, waste-producer, or waste disposal).

The Basic Provision maintains that both the legal and natural persons are obliged to prevent waste generation and create conditions for its reuse and processing.  Legal and natural persons are obliged to carry out these activities solely within the facilities that have been designed for this purpose.

Any import of waste to be disposed of on the territory of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic is prohibited.  The ban does not apply provided the following conditions are fulfilled at the same time:

 

 

            Similarly, there is a ban on exporting hazardous wastes without a written consent of both importing and transit countries.

The duties of legal and natural persons related to waste management have been set by the law on the level of republics (2) that defines the role of state administration in waste management and has been the main tool for compliance and enforcement.

The highest authority within the state administration responsible for environmental issues is the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic that reserves the right of final supervision as for the elaboration of the waste disposal programs on the republic level and the right to decide about the import, export or transit of wastes.

The Czech (Slovak in the Slovak Republic) Environmental Inspection (3) has been monitoring compliance with the legal regulations concerning wastes management both within other bodies of state administration and legal and natural persons involved in waste management activities.  The inspection can impose penalties in accordance with the Act on Wastes that may range between 10,000 and 300,000 crowns (that is, 1 00 times a 1991 average salary) in case the waste generator :

·         does not elaborate a consistent waste management scheme

·         fails to secure a source-sorted waste collection

·         does not ensure waste utilization or disposal of the wastes

·         does not keep records on wastes in accordance with a special code of conduct (4)

·         does not label properly the products or their covers from the point of view of their recycling or elimination.

 

The penalty from 20 000 up to 500 000 crowns can be charged in case the generator:

·         does not allow access of checking authorities into the processing (storing) facilities or does not submit the necessary waste management documentation or even does not provide true and full information

·         performs waste collection, purchase, processing or elimination without being licensed for that or violates the provisions of the license, acts without having the approved rules of conduct or handles the wastes outside the approved facilities.

 

The penalty from 100,000 up to 10 million crowns can be charged when the most serious violations of law occur, especially in these cases:

·         the regulations on waste import and export has been violated

·         the hazardous wastes are not collected and stored separately or are not manipulated in accordance with the special regulations of the Public Health Office concerning protection of public health

·         the waste generator does not fulfill the obligation to notify and report to the authorities and does not keep records on liquidation of hazardous wastes

·         hazardous waste is being transported without permission or the transporter violates the permission

·         the waste generator does not respect the order of state authorities charging him/her with the duty to eliminate, in exceptionally urging cases and in the interest of the public, the wastes in his/her own facility capable of doing so.

 

The Inspection, at the same time, sets terms and conditions for bringing the violator to compliance.  The Inspections offer a qualified help to the local (district) authorities.

The inspection is managed from the Headquarters and has 8 regional inspectorates in the Czech Republic.  Similarly, an analogous Headquarters of regional inspectorates is being established in the Slovak Republic.  In the Czech Republic, the Wastes Division employs 49 persons including administration personnel.

Inspection is thus the main authority responsible for enforcement.  It came into being in 1991 when it was officially established.  In the mean time it has still been gathering knowledge being derived especially from the many years of experience of the Division for Water Protection and the Division for Air Protection.

The main state administration authorities responsible for compliance are the district councils.

            The districts in Czechoslovakia have an average 150 000 inhabitants.  According to the

Federal Act on Wastes and legislation of the republics on the state administration the District

Council

a)      approves waste management programs according to the Decree No. 401/91 (5)

b)      grants approval to

1.      facilities engaged in wastes elimination

2.      hazardous wastes disposal

3.      issuing the Operating Instructions for waste processing

4.      business in waste handling

In case of not meeting the conditions or violating the regulations the District Council may withdraw its approval.

c)      makes statements on

1.      establishing waste elimination facilities

2.      waste management plants construction and building of other waste management related facilities already in the stage of the building scheme or its change (e.g. the first step of project documentation)

3.      changes in waste management related technological processes

d)      controls compliance with the decisions aimed at suppressing the law-violating activities

e)      is authorized to use enforcement measures as well as to set terms for bringing the violator to compliance, it is also authorized to stop the activities contributing to waste generation if there was a danger of a serious environmental damage.  The District Council is also authorized to charge penalties thus being authorized to practice enforcement.  The district councils represent at the same time a sort of concept-making bodies as they are commissioned to work out waste management programs on the district level based on the programs of producers and communities.

 

At this point it is necessary to mention that the claims determined by the given duties (and it is far not the full account of them) highly exceed the possibilities of managing them given the existing number and qualification of the district councils' personnel.

Extremely important from the point of view of compliance is elaboration of the waste management programs of producers who may be legal and natural persons conducting waste generating activities as well as communities on the territory of which the municipal waste is being generated.  According to the Decree of the Czech National Council No. 401/91 of 16th August 1991 (5) each producer generating more than 100 tons of wastes a year or more than 50 kilograms of hazardous wastes is obliged to elaborate, until 31st August 1992, a program for the period of 1992-97.  According to the above mentioned Decree and in compliance with the Federal Act on Wastes and the Republic Act on State Administration, this document should be approved by the district council.  In accordance with the general rules of conduct this should be as any other application settled within 30 days.  As it is clear from the following text, this task is most probably not viable within the given term and strictly for all the waste generators of whom may be even several thousands.  That is why the exception is possible and the authorities may not necessarily be obliged to comply with the given term.  Such a situation is mentioned also in the Case Study 2 in Principles of Environmental enforcement.  It concerns the situation when the Dutch regional authorities were not able to ensure, due to the lack of qualified personnel, that all the wrecker yards detected would be inspected properly and in time and thus they had to accommodate the original plan while hiring more personnel for meeting their goals.

The purpose of the legislative institutions is to ensure through the programs elaboration

·         the basic identification data on the generator or community

·         analytical data concerning wastes quantity and quality including the data on their generation

·         elaboration of the proposals for reducing, utilization and elimination of wastes

·         bringing under control all the relevant documentation related to the executive authorities.

 

The main identification data include:

·         for the generators: Characteristics of the enterprise and its establishments (subsidiaries) which is far from being easy to gather, for example, in case of the state railways, the networks of bus transportation, the distributors of motor fuels, etc.  Characteristics of the production processes including determination of basic problems of waste management.

·         for communities: Characteristics of the community, its representatives and responsible persons, basic information on the community, data on the quantity and structure of wastes generated, information on dump sites, the list of legal and natural persons engaged in waste disposal within the community, information on preserved, green belts and other environmental interests.

 

The main analytical data include:

·         for the generators: the review of production sites where the wastes are being generated, may be utilized or eliminated.  The wastes generated have to be, and that is very much demanding, sorted according to the Catalogue and categorization of wastes (6) which is practically identical as for the sorting and codes of wastes with the categorization used in Germany - e.g. the LAGA Catalogue - or with the catalogue used in Austria.  In an enterprise where several tens of waste types are being generated and a proper evidence including weighting of the wastes has not yet been executed it is rather a difficult issue.  Determination of some waste types is subject to the interpretation - that means the responsible personnel must decide whether some waste will be regarded as hazardous (the records about this type of waste will have to be kept if more than 50 kilograms of it a year are being generated) or just as others (in this case recordkeeping is obligatory when more than 100 tons of such a waste is being generated).  As some confusions still exist, new amendments to categorization including instructions on interpretation are being worked out currently.  The Terminological Norm (7) is going to be an important aid.  It will present definitions of the most frequent terms including their English, German, Russian and French equivalents.  This norm should be elaborated during this year if the plan is met.

·         Contemporary experience suggests that responsible determination of quantity (in case of wastes and sludge it is necessary to know the contents of water) will be a difficult task for many enterprises and even more demanding will be the control of correctness of these data.  During the single detailed statistical investigation in 1987 (the wastes having been sorted into approximately 400 groups according to their composition) various misunderstandings, mistakes and even concealments of some types of wastes occurred.  These occurred despite the then Federal Statistical Bureau and State Planning Commission had issued a very detailed and voluminous instruction at that occasion (cca. 60-page guidelines).

·         for communities, the data and conditions concerning collecting communal wastes are given.

 

Survey of wastes concerns the originating, utilized and temporary and finally deposited wastes sorted into the groups of hazardous, special (e.g. important from the point of view of national economy) and others.  It also concerns some special points on handling these wastes, security conditions and fire protection.  The survey further concerns the data on non-waste generating technologies and recycling in production and description of facilities for elimination of wastes run by the producers (dump sites, incinerators, waste sorting and processing facilities including the technical parameters and quantities of processed wastes of their own or of other subjects).  The survey and characteristics of not already used dump sites is given on this place, too, mentioning the quantities and characteristics of deposited wastes and the state of reclamation or rescue of these old dump sites.  All this should provide the first systematic review of this type of contaminated sites.  Also mentioned are the costs of processing and elimination of wastes as well as the information on self-monitoring reports of the enterprises and on how these data are being submitted to the competent state authorities in accordance with the government Decree on Waste Reporting (4).

The designing part represents the purpose of the program itself and includes the organizational and technological measures aimed at reducing waste generation, its sorting, material and energy utilization and waste liquidation.  It is also necessary to keep in mind the supposed changes in production especially with regard to the attenuation programs the purpose of which is to close down out-dated facilities and gradually change over to the more effective and energy and material less demanding types of production with lower waste generation.

The documentary part includes copies of decisions of the competent authorities concerning waste management programs of the generators, records on prospective controls, etc.  The generator must add the statement of the respective local council (including his/her own analysis and objections in case he/she does not agree with the opinion of the local council).  Included within the documentary part will be later on also the approval of the respective local council as well as information on possible changes incorporated into the program on the basis of demands of the respective authority.

Generally it is supposed that the district (local) authorities can decide about granting the producers special conditions, e.g. relaxation about handling the wastes for a certain period of time necessary for accommodation to the new conditions if these are not able, in time the program is being elaborated, to fulfill the duties set by the law.  Such relaxations may apply only for a period up to five years since the Act on Wastes has entered into effect, e.g. until 1 996.

The waste management program for the district is being constructed differently.  Besides the introductory part describing the characteristic features of the district, the survey of wastes generated, utilized and eliminated has been included in the analytical part using the system of sorting wastes into the groups of special, hazardous, other and communal wastes which is in accordance with the catalogue and categorization of wastes.

The survey of waste generators is also included as well as the characteristics of the wastes generated and the survey of communities generating communal wastes including the analysis of how they are being handled.  Similarly, the survey of waste collecting and processing facilities within the district is referred to including their technical and operational parameters.  The not yet resolved problems are also mentioned on this place (the problems of capacity, efficiency, financing, administration, etc.).

The designing part will contain organizational and investment plans, expected and documented designs for structural changes aimed at reducing waste generation and the program of rescue and reclamation of dump sites.  Measures to coordinate activities with other districts will be of special importance.

As an appendix the map should be enclosed on a scale 1:30,000 with the most significant waste generators, facilities, protective zones, etc introduced into this map.  Enclosed in the appendix should be also the approved programs of waste generators as well as the programs elaborated for the communities.

Extremely intensive preliminary and committed negotiations are expected to take place during the last quarter of this year.  The opinion was voiced several times that the programs should be just taken over by the district councils and approved gradually during the following period of time according to the urgency given, for instance, by the state of preparations of facilities construction, by the necessity to negotiate on common facilities or in case of a serious clash of interests.

Public interest groups, NGO and citizens are expected to comment on the problem and submit important suggestions as everybody has the right to get acquainted with the district programs.

It is clear that at this juncture the complex solution of the task is necessary because it is not possible to set any chronological priorities and solve the problems step by step.  The task involves both all the waste generating units and the state administration authorities on the district and local levels as well as a number of officials at the Czech Ministry (or the Slovak Commission) of Environment.  Frequent contacts take place currently between the competent officials.  The district officials could, for example, meet at a two and a half day long seminar organized by the Czech Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the Czech Society for Environment.

A number of impulses and ideas sprang out from the negotiations, as for example:

 

The waste management programs in general represent a highly demanding and complex activity that should within a short period of time, some 2-3 years, considerably reduce the scale of our 15-20 years of backwardness behind the legislation and practice regarded as a standard in the developed countries and contribute considerably to the efficiency of compliance and enforcement.  The fact that all the officials and scientists engaged in inquiring into the problems of waste handling have been currently engaged in developing, negotiating and control of waste management programs contributes a lot to the increase in their practical knowledge and insight into the problem.

I am going to mention some other legislative regulations exercising an influence upon compliance and enforcement.  The Details on Wastes Handling are of a great practical importance (10).  They set the principles for handling hazardous wastes, they bring about categorization of wastes for dumping through determination of classes of extracts predetermining the dump sites construction as well as the principles of sealing the dump grounds or reclamation.  Originally, the prerequisites concerning covers ought to have been set but this problem will be

solved separately.

The Details will be followed by an even more detailed, recommended Czech and Slovak

State Norm on Wastes Dumping.

The possibility of making use of the support of the Czech Environmental Fund established under the legislation passed by the Czech National Council is very important for compliance (1 0).  Similarly, there exists also the Slovak Environmental Fund.  The Fund has been a special organization with its own statute, with its director appointed by the Ministry of Environment and with its advisory board - the Council of the Fund - appointed by the minister, too.

In accordance with a special instruction, it is possible to provide means, on the request and in compliance with the statute of the Fund, to support measures aimed at environmental protection and improvement, especially aimed at:

·         supporting investment and non-investment activities

·         supporting research, development, production of and implementing appropriate technologies

·         supporting monitoring environmental media and (ecological) processes

·         repayments of installments and interests of loans provided by the Fund (which is a matter typically of non-interest-bearing loans and subsidies)

·         supporting educational activities and dissemination of environmental information

 

Unfortunately, the Fund itself is not that rich.  As for the year 1992 some 25 billion crowns were designed mostly for unfinished wastewater treatment plants and air pollution control projects.  The share assigned to waste handling projects will be at the disposal not earlier than in 1993 when there will be penalties and fees paid for waste deposits flowing in on the receiving side of the Fund (see later).  The Fund has its source of income in:

·         fees paid for discharging pollutants into the air and waters

·         fees paid for water taking and extracting minerals

·         penalties for violating the regulations and measures of environmental protection

 

Related to the activities of the Fund is the Act on Fees for Waste Deposition (11).  This Act passed by the Czech National Council aims at enforcing restrictions on land annexations and the risk of polluting ground waters.  The fees are scaled according to the harmfulness of the wastes and according to the dumpsite's compliance with the required standards set by the legislative regulations, as it is seen in the following table.  Some relaxation of the assessed fees has been anticipated for a three year's period and after that the fees will have to be paid in a full scale.

 

Table 1

 


groups of dumpsites                   fee rate I             fee rate II

                                                     crowns/t             crowns/t

                                                                               1992                  1993                1994

 


1.     soils and deads                           0                      1                         3                      6

 

2.    other wastes                               10                   25                       70                  140

(except No.1)

3.    solid communal                          20                   20                       70                  210

wastes                                        

4.     special wastes                           40                 110                     320                  640

        except hazardous                                                 

        and those under No.3.

5.    hazardous wastes                    250               3000                   4000                5000

 

 

 


The fee rate 1. applies to the dumpsites secured in accordance with the government Decree on the Details of Waste Handling.  The fee rate 11. applies to the dumpsite not secured in compliance with this regulation.  If the insufficiencies are not removed (given the relaxation during 1992 and 1993) the full fee will be paid.  The classification has been carried out according to the Catalogue and categorization of wastes (6).

The fees for dumping were subject to strong objections especially by the large power stations that were demanding separate categorization for the powerplant flue ash maintaining that it concerned nearly an inert material and that the cost increased by the fees would be reflected in the consumer prices for electricity.

Conditions for Wastehandling Entrepreneurial Activities and Conditions for Hazardous Wastes Handling are determined by even more detailed regulations.  Immediately after the legislation was passed the permits were being granted (too generously) for the entrepreneurial activities, especially for those concerning collecting and processing secondary raw materials.  Nowadays the claims are much more strict and both examinations and controls of qualification for these activities are necessitated.  The License for Audit Elaboration and Environmental Impact Assessment has been granted separately.  The elaboration of EIA has been imposed by the Environmental Act in case of particular types of investment projects and changes in technologies where a more serious impact on the environmental media could be expected.  The more detailed documentation concerning EIA has been defined in the Czech Act (13) and even more details could be found in the Instruction and Explanation published in the Bulletin and Newsletter of the Czech Ministry of Environment.  In these journals one can find further details, description of experiences and an explanation of the environmental legislation amendments.  As for the wastes specialization, The Wastes magazine is being issued as an official magazine partly funded by the Ministries of Environment.  Its first and second volumes are, too, dedicated to a considerable extent to the information on legislative regulations and experience with their implementation.  There is also another independent magazine We and the Wastes published by the private company Universa with the professional support of the Czech Society for Environment.  Besides various ideas and critical stimuli concerning regulations on waste management it contains also practical technical information about activities in Czechoslovakia and reports from various conferences and seminars abroad.  A number of privatized and newly originated firms carry on, on the business basis, an educational activity organizing seminars and courses.  The seminars of TOCOEN (Toxic Organic Components in the Environment) are on a highly professional level.  They are organized by the University of T. G. Masaryk in Brno and oriented especially at the problem of toxic substances like PCB, PCDD, etc.

Various NGO active in the waste management problems contribute to enforcement, too.  For example, the Union of Nature Protectors commissioned one of its organizations to be engaged in the activities aimed at liquidation of old dumpsites.  The organization called The Children of Earth struggled against the use of PET bottles endeavoring to make the producers recycle these covers.  The producer accepted the challenge and promised to process all the clean bottles under the condition they would be collected and brought to the respective facilities.  The problem now stands that the collection, shredding and expedition to the producer are not reasonably resolved.  Similar activities in the field of waste handling are being currently prepared by the Czech organization of Greenpeace.  Systematic educational activities and dissemination of information including establishing the feedback to the Ministries of Environment (the Federal and the Czech ones) are carried out by the Czechoslovak Society for Environment.  It has been organizing qualification courses for the state administration officials and officers as well as for the employees in various industries, it organizes also specialized seminars and conferences (this year, for example, the conferences on waste dumping, complex environmental protection and control        in some industrial agglomerations and on solidification of wastes took place).  Furthermore, through a number of activities aimed at increasing the qualification of educationalists and other cultural workers it has been endeavoring - within the framework of the Ecomenius foundation - to train the trainers.  The Czechoslovak Society for Environment wants to make a contribution to pushing through of an important program aimed at "Reducing redundant waste generation through reasonable management of packaging" the solving of which it would like to ensure through the work of an interdisciplinary team consisting of the members of the society.  The problem of covers has not yet been assigned to a special ministerial department.  Unfortunately, financial resources to support these programs are very poor and limited and funding of this project is uncertain.  The Czechoslovak Society for Environment endeavors even to overcome the undesirable effects of the NIMBY syndrome.  It participates in the environmental information network, takes part in the council of the Green Circle, etc.

From the technical point of view , this all concerns the following topical tasks:

 

  1. Reducing excessive dangerous wastes generation including their elimination while using, to a considerable extent, existing facilities as

a.      standard-quality landfills belonging to the preparation plants of uranium industries processing especially inorganic wastes containing toxic metals (being used in previous recycling of economically extractable shares and solidification of wastes from galvanizing facilities)

b.      cement factories where combustion is possible including the use of heat originating while incinerating a number of types of liquid wastes and alternative fuels obtained from wastes on the basis of swarf saturated by the hydrocarbon remnants, sludge, etc.  In the longer term also crushed plastics and waste paper will be included.

 

  1. Clarifying the meaning of "reasonable" when considering number and level of equipments of regional incinerators or centers for elimination of dangerous wastes.  As it was already mentioned, many enterprises are interested in building incinerators to eliminate their wastes and (for a good price) also undesirable wastes in their regions.

 

  1. Adopting and implementing schemes of separate collection of the main components of communal wastes within the communities of various magnitude including technologies aimed at miscellaneous utilization of worse-quality paper and kitchen wastes suitable for compost production, plastics processing into the products for sale or interproducts, catching non-ferrous metals and aluminum from the metals collected, etc.

 

4.      Managing reconstructions of inconvenient dumpsites as practically all the operated dumpsites are leaking and changing them into acceptable landfills.  Technical and organizational managing of a great number of cases when auditing is necessary, or as the case may be, the simplified method EIA used for assessment of the risk rate concerning particular facilities is necessary in the situation when large-scale rescues are not a realistic solution.  This task is important even for reporting and decision-making on the future of old landfills (the costs of rescue of one single large landfill of chemical and communal waste in Chabaovice were assessed at approximately 1 billion US $).

 

5.      Clarifying the technical and operational conditions for solidification as a method suitable for elimination and utilization of various types of wastes.  The stability of the products of solidification worked into the building materials and deposited for long periods of time (many tens of years, even centuries) has also been a challenge.

 

From the legislative and organizational points of view a number of pressing problems have been already analyzed.  In general, the most important thing in the mean time is to "absorb" a great number of regulations representing clearly a heavier work-load upon the personnel within the state administration and self-government as well as upon the entrepreneurs and employees in various industries than it is usual within the better-established environmental sectors (like water, soil, air or forest sectors).

As far as various tasks are concerned, I myself regard these as particularly important:

  1. It is absolutely vital to elaborate a set of stimulative and repressive tools in order to prevent waste generation and decrease environmental hazards caused by wastes.  This may be achieved through

a.      effective packaging management, their regeneration and recycling in compliance with the recommendations of the EC and taking the experience of some European countries (Germany, the Netherlands) into consideration

b.      publishing catalogues of non-waste generating technologies and supporting consultation services directed at their implementation

c.      elaborating more detailed guidelines to help eliminate pollutants from material flows (Hg, Pb, Cd, PVC, Cl organic solvents or diluents, etc.)

d.      aim at long-term functioning, repairable products with a high degree of regeneration ability (large electronic household facilities, computers and other electronic devices, cars, etc.) Also implementing the method of leasing where it is possible to offer complex services and not just provide a number of facilities and devices changing gradually into the consumers' waste.

 

2.      A great fortitude is necessary when working on increasing the quality of particular waste management programs that appear to be the main tool of compliance and enforcement.  It is also necessary to adjust and amend particular regulations in accordance with the knowledge and information acquired within the practical activities.

 

3.      As knowledge has been the key point in technical solutions and administrative economic decision-making in the environmental policy, training, education and efficient advertising is particularly important.  Following an agreement between the education and environmental ministries, it is necessary to extend all the suitable forms of training for the wastes generators, state administration workers, self-governments and youth.  To achieve a more profound relation to environmental protection it would be necessary to make use of vast possibilities of cooperation with foreign environmental institutions, especially with the NGO.

 

4.      To achieve the desirable accent of the state administration when implementing enforcement to prevent waste generation and ensuring an efficient waste management it is necessary to increase deterrence.  Unfortunately, under the situation when all the state administration is undergoing an essential restructuring process after the 1989 revolution, the idea that police, judicial institutions or other departments of state administration would participate on enforcement seems to be rather unrealistic.  Nevertheless, as for the next couple of years, this task is highly actual and it is vital to seek the ways how to make use of good examples (see the Netherlands, etc.)

 

5.      We are not much practically experienced in implementing efficient financial and taxation tools, may they be repressive or stimulative.  Ministry of Finance tries not to make the implementation of the new taxation and fees system too complicated and thus it is difficult to push through controlled additional charges to the price to obtain in this way new means able to bring remedy.  The additional charge proposed for oils that would help in realizing the collection of used oils, emulsions, etc. and their regeneration was repeatedly rejected.  Even for resolving these problems it would be desirable to make use of the knowledge achieved in the market economy countries.

 

6.      As we can see from the above mentioned themes, making use of the knowledge acquired by the EC countries, USA, etc. is currently highly actual.  These countries realize compliance and enforcement since they have passed their legislations on waste management in the 70ies.  One of the main and highly actual tasks has thus been improving the operation of information channels, certain coordination of activities and extension of the experience of prospective employees of state administration, self-governments. entrepreneurs, educationalists and NGOS.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1.            Federal Act No. 238/1991 Coll. of Laws of May 22, 1991, concerning waste.

 

2.            Act of the Czech National Council No. 311/1991 Coll. of Laws of July 8, 1991, on state administration in waste management.

 

3.            Act of the Czech National Council No. 282/1991 on the Czech Environmental Inspection.

 

4.            Provision of the Czech Government on the details of wastes handling 1992).

 

5.            Federal Act No. 309/91 Coll. of Laws on protection of the atmosphere against polluting substances (Atmosphere Act).

 

6.            Act of the Czech National Council No. 389/1991 Coll. of Laws of September 10, 1991, concerning protection of atmosphere and fees for its pollution.  Decree of the Ministry of Environment No. 401 of August 16, 1991, on waste management programs.

 

7.            Provision of the Federal Committee for Environment of August 1, 1991, which promulgates categorization and waste catalogue.

 

8.            The Czechoslovak State Terminological Norm on Wastes, 1992.

 

9.            Statistical investigation on wastes and landfills in 1987.

 

10.        Act of the Czech National Council No. 388/1991 Coll. of Laws of September 10, 1991, on State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic

 

11.        Act of the Czech National Council No.../1992 Coll. of Laws of January 22, 1992, concerning fees for depositing waste into the environment.

 

12.        Federal Act No. 17/1991 Coll. of Laws of December 5, 1991, concerning the environment.

Provision of the Federal Committee for Environment of August 1, 1991, which promulgates a list of pollutants, categories of pollution sources, generally valid emission limits, emission limits for polluting substances and recommended limits for declaring regulation stages.

 

13.        Act on the Environmental Impact Assessment of Building Structures, Activities, Concepts and Products of April 2, 1992 passed by the Czech National Council