Responsibility for the elimination of environmental pollution is dispersed

2/26/2004 | 12:00 AM

Text size: [-A] [+A]

Language: EST | RUS | ENG

Print

TALLINN, 26 February 2004 - The SAO examined how the government has organised its activities in cases where a railway or road accident gives rise to environmental pollution. The audit revealed three main deficiencies – the division of responsibilities between different agencies must be clearer, interagency notification must be functional and an environmental expert must be involved in eliminating the consequences of accidents.

The auditors find that currently there is no common understanding of the agencies’ responsibilities with regard to eliminating the pollution that has occurred. For instance, the Rescue Board believes that the Environmental Inspectorate should be responsible for pollution elimination, whereas the latter thinks that the rescue bodies could deal with this. Similar misunderstandings relate to the Railway Administration and the Road Administration: the former does not know its obligations in the case of an extensive polluting accident and the latter believes that the rescue services should manage the elimination of extensive pollution on the road.

Such undetermined factors and inconsistencies in the agencies’ functions may cause undue expenditure to the government, if pollution is not eliminated or it is eliminated inadequately. For example, the toluene spilt at Ääsmäe as a result of a car accident reached the groundwater and rendered the wells in the region unfit for use. Therefore it is crucial that the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Minister of Environment determine precisely the responsibilities and duties of agencies with reference to the accident scenario.

Furthermore, the SAO sees the need to involve, every time, an environmental expert for the government in eliminating the pollution. This expert would assist with his or her know-how to find the most effective method of elimination for specific pollution. Currently, the practices of involving an expert vary greatly: there are cases where the expert arrives at the scene days later and there are polluting accidents for which no expert is involved. Involving an expert would help to avoid situations where the incorrect choice of elimination or control method causes the pollution to spread further or damage the soil. The agencies responsible for pollution elimination – the Road Administration and the Railway Administration – lack the know-how necessary for determining the dangerousness or the extent of pollution. Neither do the rescue services assess the impact of pollution on the environment; they also lack the equipment for determining the chemical substance in question.

Rapid reaction warrants timely communication of information to the responsible entities, but there are problems in this regard as well. The legislation ensures that the information reaches the Rescue Board and the rescue services, but there is no assurance as to the further movement of information. There have been a number of cases where the Environmental Inspectorate or the local government body has learned about the accident from the press or where the Railway Administration or the Road Administration have not been notified of an accident within their area of responsibility. In order to avoid such situations in the future, the obligations of the parties and the communication channels need to be agreed on and, where necessary, by means of instruments adopted by the legislature.

For more information on the findings and proposals of the SAO, please refer to the SAO web site www.riigikontroll.ee. The responses from the Minister of Environment, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications to the SAO have been annexed to the audit report.


Sven Soiver
Press Representative of State Audit Office
Telephone: (372) 640 0787
GSM: (372) 53 414464
E-mail: [email protected]

  • Posted: 2/26/2004 12:00 AM
  • Last Update: 10/1/2015 12:23 PM
  • Last Review: 10/1/2015 12:23 PM

More News