Supporting the Fitness Check of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) Final Report Appendix J: Case Studies Directorate-General for Environment Written by Adriana R. Ilisescu September 2019 [Catalogue number] number] [Catalogue EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) APPENDIX J CASE STUDIES • Case study Report – Bulgaria • Case study Report – Germany • Case study Report – Ireland • Case study Report – Italy • Case study Report – Slovakia • Case study Report – Spain • Case study Report – Sweden doi: [number] ISBN [number] [Catalogue number] number] [Catalogue EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) doi: [number] ISBN [number] CASE STUDY REPORT BULGARIA Supporting the Fitness Check of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) Written Mariya Gancheva March 2019 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Background and context 5 2.1 Bulgaria and air quality zone characteristics 5 2.2 Air quality monitoring and air quality 7 2.3 Allocation of responsibility 13 2.4 Legal and policy framework and air quality measures 14 2.5 Information to the public 16 2.6 Use of EU funding for air quality improvements 17 3 Findings 18 3.1 Relevance of the AAQ Directives 18 3.2 Implementation successes 19 3.3 Implementation challenges 21 3.4 Factors underlying compliance and effectiveness of the AAQ Directives 25 3.5 Costs and benefits of the AAQ Directives 28 4 Conclusions 32 4.1 Identified problems and potential for improving the implementation of the Directives 32 4.2 Assessment of the AAQ Directives 33 March 2019 2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) Appendices Appendix A References Appendix B Interviews Appendix C Pilot interview guide Appendix D Areas of air quality management Appendix E Pollutant concentration data for Bulgaria, 2013-17 March 2019 3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) 1 INTRODUCTION This report summarises the findings and conclusions of the case study for Bulgaria. The case study had a focus on air quality zone Plovdiv Agglomeration. The report is one of seven case studies carried out for the Fitness Check of the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives. Its main purpose is to examine, in more detail, the situation regarding the experience and lessons learnt in the implementation of the air quality legislation. The case studies provide a basis for a more detailed examination of the questions of the fitness check and include a review of implementation and integration successes and problems, the costs of implementation and of non-implementation of the legislation and the administrative burden of implementation and opportunities for improving implementation without compromising the integrity of the pur- pose of the Directives. As such, the case study complements the information gathered through other sources, such as desk review, targeted questionnaire, open public consultation, interviews, focus groups and stakeholder workshops. The Member States for detailed case studies have been selected to cover a range of geographies, governance structures and sizes. This has led to the selection of the following seven case study Member States: Slovakia, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Bulgaria and Italy. The case study report is structured in four chapters, namely: • Chapter 1 – Introduction • Chapter 2 – Background and context, presents general information about the context of the case study • Chapter 3 – Findings, presents detailed findings regarding the relevance of the AAQ Direc- tives, the implementation successes and problems, the factors underlying compliance with the Directives, the costs and benefits. • Chapter 4 – Conclusions, presents a summary of the main findings. The case study findings rely on extensive desk research and a series of interviews that took place over the period October and November 2018. An overview of the interviews carried out is provided in Appendix A. The case study has been shared with the interviewed stakeholders in January 2019 for validation of findings and correction of factual mistakes. Feedback received from the stakeholders was inte- grated in the case study report. March 2019 4 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) 2 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The present chapter contains general information about the air quality framework in Bulgaria. 2.1 Bulgaria and air quality zone characteristics 2.1.1 Scope of the case study The case study covers the entire territory of Bulgaria and focuses in particular on the Plovdiv Agglomeration. As shown in Error! Reference source not found. below, for the purpose of assessing air quality the territory of Bulgaria is divided into six zones of which three agglomera- tions (Capital, Plovdiv and Varna). Figure 2-1 Air quality zones for NO₂ and PM10, 2014 Source: European Commission, DG Environment, Atlas of air quality zones and monitoring stations (2013 & 2014), Bulgaria. The air quality zones correspond to the so-called ‘areas for air quality assessment and manage- ment’ defined in the national legislation transposing the Ambient Air Quality Directives (AAQDs)1. These areas are identified by the Minister of Environment and Water and are updated every five years unless significant changes in the activities causing changes of the concentration levels of 1 Ordinance N12 of 15 July 2010 concerning norms for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, lead, benzene, carbon monoxide and ozone in ambient air. Ordinance N11 of 14.05.2007 concerning norms for arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydro- carbons in ambient air Ordinance N7 of 3 May 1999 concerning assessment and management of air quality. March 2019 5 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING THE FITNESS CHECK OF THE EU AMBIENT AIR QUALITY DIRECTIVES (2008/50/EC, 2004/107/EC) the pollutants are observed. The areas are identified based on assessments and according to any exceedances of the assessment thresholds defined in the national legislation. The 2013 Order2 issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) has divided the territory of the country in six ‘areas for air quality assessment and management’ that cover all 28 provinces of the coun- try. The division of these areas was based on the existing administrative and territorial organisa- tion of the country and on a preliminary assessment of the air pollution in each municipality. According to the list of beneficiaries eligible for support under the Operational Programme (OP) Environment 2014-2020 for development or update of the municipal air quality plans, 28 munic- ipalities have problems in meeting the AAQD standards and need to prepare air quality plans3. The information about the air quality zone coverage and the pollutants monitored is summarised in Appendix D. 2.1.2 Characteristics of air quality zone The ‘Plovdiv Agglomeration’ air quality zone covers two municipalities, which need to prepare air quality plans – Plovdiv and Asenovgrad. Together the two municipalities host about 7% of the population in the country. Furthermore, the Plovdiv Municipality is the most densely populated area in the country. It is over three times more densely populated than the capital city of Sofia with an estimated people density of 3,358 in 20164. The Plovdiv and the Asenovgrad municipalities form an important economic centre and contribute significantly to the economy of the Plovdiv Province. The main economic sectors in Plovdiv are manufacturing (primarily metal products, food, machinery and equipment), services (primarily business services such as IT and wholesale trade but also public and commercial services) and construction. In 2015, the output of the local non-financial sector was EUR 7.3 billion with an added value of EUR 2.2 billion5. Leading economic sectors in Asenovgrad are commerce, metal- lurgy and manufacturing of metal goods, transport and logistics6. Both municipalities have specific local climatic and geomorphological characteristics that affect air quality. This is especially relevant for Plovdiv where the geomorphology of the city creates condi- tions for holding atmospheric masses and forming a specific atmospheric stratification, which impede the dispersion of air pollution7. The detailed characteristics of Bulgaria and the Plovdiv Agglomeration are presented in Text box 2-1 below. 2 Order 969 of 21.12.2013, Ministry of Environment and Water and Executive Environment Agency, http://eea.government.bg/bg/legislation/air/zapoved_96921.12.2013.pdf. 3 Operation Programme Environment 2014-2020, Ongoing calls, BG16M1OP002-5.002, http://ope.moew.gov- ernment.bg/bg/notice/noticedetail/from/noticecurrent/id/77/typeId/1. 4 National Statistical Institute, 2016, Cities and Their Urbanised Areas in the Republic of Bulgaria 2010-2016, http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/publications/URBAN2016_ENG.pdf. 5 Investment Destination Plovdiv, Local Economy website, http://invest.plovdiv.bg/en/content/local-econ- omy/. 6 Asenovgrad Municipality, General Economic characteristics website, https://www.assenovgrad.com/ob-