Strategic Evaluation of Environment and Risk Prevention – Executive Summary STRATEGIC EVALUATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND RISK PREVENTION UNDER STRUCTURAL AND COHESION FUNDS FOR THE PERIOD 2007-2013 Contract No. 2005.CE.16.0.AT.016. National Evaluation Report for Latvia Executive Summary Directorate General Regional Policy A report submitted by in association with Mrs. Evija Brante Mr. Stijn Vermoote ELLE ECOLAS nv Skolas street 10-8 Lange Nieuwstraat 43, Riga, LV-1010 2000 Antwerp Estonia Belgium TEL +371 724.24.11 TEL +32/3/233.07.03 [email protected] [email protected] Date: November 10th, 2006 GHK Brussels Rue de la Sablonnière, 25 B-1000 Brussels Tel: +32 (0)2 275 0100; Fax : +32 (2) 2750109 GHK London 526 Fulham Road London, United Kingdom SW6 5NR Tel: +44 20 7471 8000; Fax: +44 20 7736 0784 www.ghkint.com GHK, ECOLAS, IEEP, CE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PRIORITIES IN LATVIA 1.1 PART 1: CURRENT SITUATION 1.1.1 State of the environment Water supply Available groundwater resources from the deep aquifer are abundant, with up to 4% of the resource currently being consumed, the total daily consumption being 1,4 million m³ of water. Water use in Latvia during 1990 – 2002 has decreased more than two times. Appropriate drinking water is being provided for only around 40% of the population. Most inhabitants in urban areas are provided with access to the centralised water supply network, however, much of this network is in bad technical condition and consumers may receive water of lower quality than that achieved by treatment. The availability of a centralised water supply and wastewater infrastructure varies from town to town. In towns with a population above 10.000 it typically reaches 80-95% and 70-85% of the population for water supply and wastewater, respectively. In towns with a population below 10.000 it typically reaches 50-85% and 30-75% of the population for water supply and wastewater, respectively. Waste water treatment Whole territory of Latvia is classified as sensitive area for the UWWTD. Out of 71 agglomerations that have a STP: 7 have a WWTP in place that complies with the UWWTD standards; 64 have a WWTP that is not fully compliant. Most of wastewater treatment plants do not have adequate sludge treatment. The most common final disposal routes for sewage sludge are: agriculture and compost. 71 % of the population is connected to the sewer system (almost all connected to a WWTP). By the end of 2008, Latvia will finish improvements to the waste water collection and drinking water supply systems in the largest cities with a population equivalent above 100 000. Municipal solid waste Waste is one of the main environmental problems in Latvia. The main problems related to waste are the large number of waste dumps not complying with environmental protection requirements, uncontrolled and illegal dumping of waste outside the territories of waste dumps, and lack of a municipal solid waste inventory. Also, the systems for the management of hazardous waste and for separated waste collection and recycling of packaging have not been established. 600.000 to 700.000 tons of municipal waste is produced in Latvia annually. Approximately one half of this quantity can be regarded as biodegradable municipal waste. Management of municipal waste within administrative territories is the responsibility of municipalities. The majority of collected municipal waste and other types of waste are buried in dump sites without pre-treatment. Approximately 40% of collected waste is buried at the Getliņi landfill site situated in the Riga district. Renewable energy The technical potential of small hydropower stations is between 28-35 MW (78 GWh).The technical potential for wind energy production has been estimated at 1.000 GHK, ECOLAS, IEEP, CE 1 Strategic Evaluation of Environment and Risk Prevention – Executive Summary GWh/year and it represents about 2000 MW of wind technical or economical potential. Wood is the most extensively and common local energy source used for heat generation. The potential quantity of biogas produced in Latvia is estimated at 170 mln. m³ per year. Since 2002, according to the Latvian Legislation a quota system for renewable energy development is in force. The Latvian Renewable Energy Strategy 2006 – 2016 is still under development. Natural risk management The territory affected by floods has to be determined in territorial plans (made by municipalities). Mainly territories at estuaries of rivers and along the Daugava River, Lielupe River, Venta River and Gauja River are endangered by flooding. Risk of forest fire mainly exists during May – September depending on the amount of precipitation. Forest fire is mainly initiated by visitors of forests. 361 forest fires are registered in 2005. Affected areas were 108.028 ha. Drought is not an issue in Latvia. Latvia has not made a prioritisation of national hazards. The priorities may differ from district to district. It is done on local or regional level usually as part of local planning. 1.1.2 State of implementation of the acquis Latvia has implemented the acquis in all areas of environment policy. Horizontal legislation is in place and is in line with the acquis on strategic environmental impact assessment. In the air quality sector, legislation is in place. In the waste management sector, legislation is in place. In the area of water quality legislation is in place and is in line with the acquis. Regarding urban wastewater and drinking water, transitional arrangements until 31 December 2015, with intermediate targets, have been agreed. More information can be found in Chapter 2. 1.1.3 State and history of environmental expenditure Following tables provide an overview of the environmental expenditures made during the last 3 years (2004-2006): Table 0-1: Funding for development of the environmental protection infrastructure, million euro. 2004 2005 2006 Water system – investments in infrastructure European Union funding 23,82 30,13 147,77 State budget 1,07 16,20 10,55 Own funds 13,18 17,56 15,21 Total 38,07 63,89 173,53 Waste management - investments in infrastructure European Union funding 8,90 8,69 9,80 State budget 3,69 1,94 1,93 Own funds 4,07 2,85 3,27 Total 16,66 13,48 15,00 GHK, ECOLAS, IEEP, CE 2 Strategic Evaluation of Environment and Risk Prevention – Executive Summary Table 0-2: Funds available to Latvia from the European Union Funds for funding of environmental protection measures, million euro. 2004. 2005. 2006. Fund Cohesion fund 92,86 77,14 77,14 European Regional Development Fund * 14,41 20,57 21,86 1.1.4 State, history and lessons of funding The informative report of the Ministry of Finance „On readiness of Latvia for absorption of the European Union’s financial resources” on the process of implementation of activities under the Single Programming Document indicates that the absorption of the European Union’s financial resources proceeds successfully in Latvia. Some good and bad example lessons from the previous programming period are following: Practice lessons on water supply and waste water treatment The first water infrastructure projects were launched in Riga, Daugavpils and Liepaja at the beginning of 1990s, through the development of separate management and investment plants. For the period 1996-2002 €151million was invested in these cities. The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme identified these cities as priority “hot spots” because insufficiently treated municipal wastewater was being discharged to the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea, resulting in considerable pollution. The next comprehensive group of projects were the investment projects undertaken to improve drinking water quality and wastewater effluent standards in agglomerations with population from PE 2000 to 100 000 (excluding Liepāja). The most successful projects were Ventspils, Kuldīga and Talsi Water management projects. Practice lessons on municipal waste treatment One of the first Municipal waste management projects in Latvia was the creation of a municipal waste management system in North Vidzeme covering four administrative districts: Valmiera, Limbaži, Valka and Cēsis. The project was realised during the period 1998 – 2006. The territory was chosen for the following reasons: • income level in the territory is about the average income level in the state; • there are no big cities in the region requiring their own independent MWM system (density of population is not so high and the produced amount of waste not so large as, for example, in Riga); • there already existed some cooperation among local governments in waste management in the territory, and the attitude towards improvement in environmental protection was positive; • The Gauja National Park, a biosphere reservation of North Vidzeme, is located in the territory, so it was possible to make a major investment in the protection of the above mentioned nature objects. GHK, ECOLAS, IEEP, CE 3 Strategic Evaluation of Environment and Risk Prevention – Executive Summary The goal of the project was to eliminate the existing legal and illegal 72 dump sites in the North Vidzeme region, to create a new type of modern solid municipal waste landfill, as well as to introduce a system of waste collection and management, comprising Cēsis, Limbaži, Valka and Valmiera Districts. Up to now, the landfill “Daibe” has been build and the supply of equipment has been completed and 12 dump sites have been recultivated (as planned). It is planned that the rest dumpsites will be recultivated with the financial support from ERDF fund or municipal resources. Waste management projects, which are/were financed under Cohesion Fund are integrated plans for waste management and contains different elements including the construction of regional landfills, the establishment of separate waste collection points and the recultivation of all old dumpsites located in each solid waste management region.