The Capital City Hall, fined by the Environmental Guard with 100,000 lei

The Bucharest Commissariat of the National Environmental Guard carried out a new control at the beginning of October at the Capital City Hall, to verify the measures imposed during the previous controls, carried out in the months of December – February – May, and to verify the stage of the development and implementation of the Integrated Air Quality Plan (PICA), until October 25, 2024, the deadline assumed by Romania vis-à-vis the European Commission.

“Following the identified deficiencies, the GNM representatives applied to the Capital City Hall a contravention sanction consisting of a fine, in the amount of 100,000 lei for the non-implementation of measures to reduce the concentrations of atmospheric pollutants in the Bucharest agglomeration, measures established during the previous control (by Findings No. 239/31.05.2024)”, the Environmental Guard transmits on Monday.

According to the institution, the mayor’s office is obliged to develop the Integrated Air Quality Plan (PICA) 2024-2028, a plan that includes measures to reduce and maintain air quality.

“The plan has not been developed, which is why GNM has imposed a series of measures that must be implemented by PMB to reduce the concentrations of atmospheric pollutants in the Bucharest agglomeration”, say the representatives of the Environmental Guard.

According to them, between December 2023 and October 2024, the mayor’s office was notified more than 30 times by the Bucharest Environmental Protection Agency regarding atmospheric pollution at the level of the urban agglomeration (exceeding the limit values ​​for the PM 2.5 indicator).

“Also during this period (December 2023-October 2024), the National Environmental Guard – Bucharest Municipality Commissariat carried out 4 inspection and control actions at Bucharest City Hall, as a result of which 4 contraventional sanctions were applied, totaling 250,000 lei and measures were established to reduce atmospheric pollutant concentrations (PM 2.5, PM10, NOx, pollutants resulting from road traffic, emissions from residential heating), measures which were returned to in subsequent controls. Following these checks, it was also established the measure of compliance with the deadline assumed with the European Commission regarding the elaboration and implementation of the PICA, respectively the presentation of a plan of intermediate measures to reduce the impact on the two main components (traffic and residential heating), and PMB did not adopt the required measures”, the Environmental Guard also reports.

(source: AFP)