Bulgaria Approves Construction of South Stream

Supreme Expert Environmental Council of Bulgaria (SEEC) of the Ministry of Environment and Water approved the construction of the South Stream pipeline, according to a note released on Wednesday.

The representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water, municipalities, NGOs, and representatives from the Black Sea and Danube regions met for four hours to discuss the project.

SEEC’s ruling contains over ten binding conditions meant to protect the environment. 

The project is subject to a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), as defined by the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). The competent authority approved the EIA after two years of works – the EIA procedure was launched in August 2011.

Earlier this month, Alexey Miller of the Gazprom Management Committee visited the Republic of Bulgaria, meeting several ministers to discuss the Russian-Bulgarian cooperation in the gas sector.

In that occasion, the parties ‘expressed mutual interest in completing the (South Stream) project as soon as possible.’ 

The pipeline will cross 11 districts – Varna, Shumen, Targovishte, Razgrad, Rousse, Veliko Tarnovo, Pleven, Lovech, Vratsa, Montana and Vidin. 

Resident of Varna, Bulgaria’s third largest city, expressed their apprehension for the South Stream project due to the proximity of the city to one compression station. Last month, citizens took part to the meeting with the management of the project company.

Construction of the Bulgarian stretch of the pipeline was delayed until end-2013 or early 2014, due to lack of construction permit and approved environmental impact assessment, which added up to already existing concerns of local inhabitants.