1. Decentralisaton of Environmental Permitting and Inspection Experience from Central and Eastern European Countries Dr Radoje Lausevic Mr Mihail Dimovski

2. www.rec.org The Decentralization Decentralization as transfer of functions Subsidiary Principle Forms of decentralization: administrative deconcentration ( weakest form of decentralization) delegation ( transferring decision making responsibility ) devolution ( where local governments have legally recognized geographical boundaries and public functions) fiscal associated with making expenditure decisions with funds

3. www.rec.org Decentralization in South Eastern Europe Ensuring existence of a basic legal framework for decentralisation Ensuring sufficient financial resources to undertake assigned functions Trained human resources Ensuring mechanisms for political accountability Setting up central and deconcentrated institutional arrangements to steer and implement the decentralisation process

4. www.rec.org Why decentralization of Inspection in South Eastern Europe Impossible and undesirable for the central government to inspect every single operator in the given year Centralized permitting and inspections represent great burden on the businesses Many countries from SEE replaced to-down approach with decentralized system Specific permitting and inspection duties spread among central and local governments Human Resources (full time equivalents FTEs) in Croatia Number of “Controlled Installations” (estimated) Other Technical Resources available to Inspecting Authority in Croatia Inspection StaffSupport Staff 5831,900Directorate for Inspection of the MEPPPC employs 58 inspectors FTEs in environmental protection. Thirteen environmental protection inspectors are located in central office in Zagreb and 45 inspectors in 20 branch units in the county seats. In addition to the FTEs, the Directorate for Inspection has access to different areas of expertise such as different analyses in accredited laboratories, rehabilitation of environmental damage, sampling, monitoring.

5. www.rec.org The role of the local inspectorates Ensuring that the operators are in compliance with the permit/license issued by the competent authorities by : - site visits - administrative inspections - desk research Example of inspections action taken in Croatia Type of Action Administrative SanctionsCriminal Prosecution instigated by the Inspecting Authority Civil / Administrative Court Actions instigated by the Inspecting Authority Other Warning Letters Issue of Notices/ Orders Requiring the operator to take action Administrative Fines Reports to Prosecutor Prosecutions taken Reports to Prosecutor Civil/ Administrative Cases taken[1][1] Undertaking by another person Type of Enforcing Action /√√√Not available √N/A Number of actions per annum /2,162571Not available 304N/A

6. www.rec.org Benefits of decentralization of environmental enforcement Enhanced decision-making on permitting through local knowledge of environmental conditions Higher responsibility in decision-making accompanied by higher motivation Higher transparency and accountability in the decision-making through facilitated local participation Increased local capacities for services consistent with local requirements

7. www.rec.org Difficulties of decentralized Inspections Problems in decentralized environmental enforcement ConsequenceSolutions to be considered Lack of knowledge and capacity-low quality inspections -inspection plans not implemented -law performance of the inspectorate towards set targets -diffuse expertise -disparate quality of inspection procedures -transfer of knowledge from central to local level -increased number of training -increased budget for local inspectorates -establishment of minimum qualifications for local inspectors -developing inspection guidelines Inconsistent application of national policies -national policies not implemented -infringements imposed for improper implementation of EU legislation -capacity building on local level -consistency of the local inspection plans -development of performance indicators Overlap with central government functions -replication of inspections -burden to businesses -waste of resources and staff -increased opportunity for corruption -centralized control of the quality of inspection work -improved information sharing and data collection

8. www.rec.org Planning of decentralized enforcement in SEE Type of Inspection Plans National (N)(1)Regional (R)(2) Sub Regional (SR)3) Local (L)(4) Which plans do you establish (tick) -- Which plans do you implement (tick) -- At which levels do you implement these plans (more than one box can be ticked) NR SRSR LNR SRSR LNR SRSR LNR SRSR L -- -----------

9. www.rec.org Quality Assurance for Local Inspectorates.

10. www.rec.org Measures to enhance the decentralized environmental enforcement Implementation of regulations for organization of inspectorates Adoption of internal regulations for providing training programmes Improved procedures for providing information to the private sector and general public Development of system for performance indicators and internal controls for the inspections Development of information systems aimed to improve coordination of work

11. www.rec.org Thank you for your attention.