Environmentalists warn EU that Bulgaria ignores coal plants breaching pollution rules

Greenpeace Bulgaria and Za Zemiata (For the Earth) said they would file a complaint today with the European Commission over repeated failures by Bulgarian authorities to enforce the European Union’s environmental law at four coal plants. They expressed the view that institutions are prioritizing financial interests over public health and the environment.

Environmental organizations Greenpeace Bulgaria and Za Zemiata wrote a complaint, to submit to the European Commission, regarding what they described as long-standing violations by four coal power plants linked to Bulgarian businessman Hristo Kovachki. “Bulgarian institutions refuse to apply EU environmental law as intended, favoring coal owners over people and nature. This complaint provides evidence for the European Commission to initiate infringement procedures,” said environmental lawyer Regina Stoilova.

Alleged breaches from 2018 to 2023 concern thermal power plants Bobov Dol in Golemo Selo, Brikel in Galabovo, Republika in Pernik, and Maritsa 3 in Dimitrovgrad. The two groups said they exhausted all national-level mechanisms for holding the polluters accountable and protecting affected citizens and the environment.

The two groups have exhausted all legal mechanisms on the national level

Instead of enforcing environmental standards, Bulgarian institutions – including the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Executive Environmental Agency and regional environmental and water inspectorates – have repeatedly issued permits to offenders, imposed weak or ineffective fines, and ignored serious pollution events that threaten public health, the environmentalists added.

“These coal plants are shielded by an institutional network protecting Kovachki’s opaque coal business. Thousands of Bulgarians living under these chimneys continue to face rampant pollution with no accountability,” said Director of Greenpeace Bulgaria Meglena Antonova.

Penalties could have been millions of euros higher

Bulgarian courts have also failed to act, according to the statement. During the legal proceedings after Brikel and Maritsa 3 were temporarily closed in 2022, the plants continued operating for three years. In the said six-year period, Kovachki-linked plants avoided nearly EUR 2.5 million in penalties, , the organizations calculated and stressed that Brikel payed only EUR 3,300 in fines.

In official documents, the businessman holds no ownership in most of the firms that media outlets regularly link him to. Kovachki has only identified himself as a consultant in some of them. Investigative journalists have obtained documents indicating that he controls a group of companies through a holding called Orion, which he denied.

Violations include illegal wastewater discharge

The violations of the permits consisted of illegal emissions into the air, illegal discharge of wastewater into rivers, and use of prohibited fuels.

“In an attempt to reduce production costs, the coal power plants associated with Kovachki have systematically co-fired waste and biomass with coal without possessing the necessary permits. Even after obtaining the required permits, the operators have significantly exceeded the biomass limits specified in them,” reads a report accompanying the announcement.

Meanwhile, the power plants have gained millions from saved carbon emission allowances, the document adds. An analysis by Za Zemiata estimates the damages for the period 2017-2021 at EUR 75 million for five plants associated with Kovachki, four of which are the subject of the new complaint.

Attack on activist living near Bobov Dol

“Not only has there been no accountability, but activists are also facing aggression for speaking out. Over the weekend, Daniela Toneva, an activist opposing the Bobov Dol TPP coal plant, was attacked after speaking out about the plant’s severe pollution and the links between Hristo Kovachki and the chairman of the Bobov Dol Municipal Council Krasimir Chavraganski,” said Beyond Fossil Fuels, a partner organization.

Namely, someone spilled paint on Toneva’s car and broke her window with a stone they threw into the house. She told Svobodna Evropa (RFE/RL) that local authorities are hostile to her because of her activism. The firm operating the nearby Bobov Dol facility condemned the attack.