ISPA Programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments of the European Union along with PHARE and SAPARD programmes. ISPA was established as part of Agenda 2000 of EU and aims at supporting the preparation of the candidate-countries for accession in the Union, in the area of Environment and Transport. Programming on ISPA is performed on the basis of the Accession Partnership and two national strategic documents: ISPA Sector Strategy for Environment and ISPA Sector Strategy for Transport.

The main objectives of ISPA Programme are three:

• To get the candidate-countries acquainted with the policies and procedures of EU;
• To assist the candidate-countries in reaching EU standards in Environment protection;
• To expand and link the national transport infrastructures of the candidate-countries and provide for their integration to the trans-European transport networks

Under ISPA 1 040 000 000 Euro are annually granted to all candidate countries participating in the programme. Of these, Bulgaria receives annually 8-12% - amounting 83 to 125 million Euro. According to the requirements of the Programme the sum should be distributed proportionally 50%-50% between Environment and Transport. The approach for distributing the annual ISPA grants among the participating countries is based on several indicators: total area, population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.

The funds granted by ISPA for a particular project (or measure) should not exceed 75% of the eligible costs on the projects. In extreme cases the European Commission could increase this percentage to 85%. Feasibility studies and technical assistance could be 100% funded by ISPA, but the sum should not exceed 2% of the total sum granted by the Programme for the project. The combined ISPA grant and other EU financial instruments should not exceed 90% of all costs of the project.

ISPA in Bulgaria

The projects themselves are prepared and managed by one of the four ISPA Implementing Agencies in Bulgaria - in Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and Ministry of Environment and Water (for environment), and in Ministry of Transport and Republican Road Infrastructure Fund (for transport). The overall coordination on the projects is performed by the ISPA Coordination Unit in the Ministry of Finance, whose duties are to support the work of the National ISPA Coordinator. The Paying Authority approving all financial transfers on ISPA Programme for Bulgaria is the National Fund (in the Ministry of Finance), directly subordinated to the National Authorizing Officer.

All ISPA projects are subject to audit missions on regular basis by the Internal Audit Units in the relevant Ministries and the European Commission (Directorate General „Regional Policy“).

The implementation of ISPA Programme in Bulgaria aims at the following objectives:

• creation of conditions for transposition of the European legislation and technical standards in the area of environment protection and transport infrastructure;
• integrated approach on funding the projects on regional basis, covering the entire water cycle and formulating criteria for identification of future investment projects in environment protection;
• harmonized Bulgarian legislation in compliance with the EU Directives on environment protection;
• creation of favorable conditions for the transit traffic and the international transport of people and goods;
• achievement of European quality and high level of security in the transport sector;
• extension of the national transport infrastructure and linking with the trans-European transport net-works;
• effective implementation of the EU policies and procedures for the environment protection and trans-port by the Bulgarian administration.

Ispa Implementing Agency In The Ministry Of Regional Development And Public Works

In 2003 the Council of Ministers (CoM) adopted new Rules of Organization of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (CoM Decree No. 65/2003). These Rules of Organization established a new Directorate “ISPA Programme – Public Works and Water Supply and Sewerage Systems”, responsible for the preparation, implementation and control of ISPA environmental projects and more specifically in the Water Sector. The newly established Directorate replaced the Joint Department between the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the Ministry of Environment and Water and currently acts as separate ISPA Implementing Agency.

In 2004, with CoM Decree No. 206 the name of the Directorate was changed from “ISPA Programme – Public Works and Water Supply and Sewerage Systems” to “ISPA Implementing Agency - Public Works and Water Supply and Sewerage Systems”. Since then the administrative capacity of ISPA IA in the MRDPW was strengthen several times.

At present ISPA Implementing Agency Directorate consists of 31 civil servants assigned to work in 5 departments as follows:

• Programming and Monitoring Department– responsible for the preparation and monitoring of the projects managed by ISPA IA - MRDPW and financed by EU, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bulgarian state budget. The two units within the department – “Projects Preparation” and “Monitoring” ensure full segregation of responsibilities.

• Tendering and Contracting Department – responsible for the tendering and contracting under the projects managed by ISPA IA - MRDPW and financed by EU, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bulgarian state budget.

• Technical Management Department– responsible for the technical implementation of the projects managed by ISPA IA - MRDPW and financed by EU, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bulgarian state budget.

• Financial Management Department– responsible for the financial management and accounting of the projects managed by ISPA IA - MRDPW and financed by EU, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bulgarian state budget. The two units within the department – “Treasury” and “Accounting” ensure full segregation of responsibilities.

• Quality Assurance and Control Department – responsible for the quality assurance and ex-ante control of the tendering and contracting process under the projects managed by ISPA IA - MRDPW and financed by EU, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Bulgarian state budget.

In the process of preparation for accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU and for ensuring the effective management and successful absorption of the European pre-accession instruments as basic stage and possibility to gain experience for the future use of Structural Funds of EC, a Frame of reference for introducing the Extended Decentralized Implementation System (EDIS) for PHARE and ISPA Programmes was prepared. The Frame of reference, corresponding to the institutional framework in this field, was adopted by the Council of Ministers with Decision No. 607 in 2002.

In pursuance of the EDIS Frame of reference, ISPA Implementing Agency in the MRDPW has completed successfully all 4 stages of the process and as per the Monitoring report on the state of preparedness for EU membership of Bulgaria and Romania, issued by the European Commission on 26 September 2006 “the current pace of preparations should enable the completion of ISPA EDIS accreditation by the end of the year”.

• In relation to the role of ISPA IA – MRDPW in the management and co-ordination of the Cohesion/Structural Funds after the accession of Bulgaria to EU, as per Chapter 21 “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments” (which was closed 2004) one of the future authorities responsible for the implementation of Cohesion Fund operations in environment sector will be the ISPA Implementing Agency Directorate in the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
  

  ISPA projects managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works

ISPA Measure no: 2000/BG/16/P/PE/003 Construction of Waste Water treatment Plants located in the Maritsa Basin (Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad)

SOURCES OF FINANCING:

• 32 549 766 € (75%) Grant from ISPA
• 6 509 953 € (15%) Loan from EIB
• 4 339 969 € (10%) State Budget
• 43 399 688 € total amount of the measure

The measure is part of a group of 3 projects for the construction of new Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP) and related infrastructure to serve Stara Zagora, Dimitrovgrad and Haskovo. The construction activities for Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad are financed under the ISPA measure, while the WWTP for Haskovo (€ 17.1 million) is financed entirely under a Finance Contract FI �„– 20.153 signed between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Investment Bank for the total amount of € 28 million.

The three cities are located in South-Central Bulgaria on the Maritsa River or its tributaries. The three municipalities currently discharge untreated wastewater into Maritsa River or its tributaries. At present population of the three municipalities is about 260 000 and the total mean dry weather flow of untreated wastewater is estimated to be in the order of 100 000 cm per day. The amount of pollution is particularly high in the cities of Haskovo and Stara Zagora, since the wastewater is discharged into tributaries where there is very little dilution.

The project, therefore, aims to tackle the most urgent problem of treatment of waste water via the construction of three new WWTPs in the cities concerned with associated infrastructure necessary for their functioning (intercepting collectors, secondary collectors, pressure mains, pumping stations, access roads, etc).

Total Maritsa River Basin intervention (incl. Haskovo) is € 61 million

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

The overall objective of the measure is to reduce the pollution load of the Maritsa River and its tributar-ies, and ultimately the water quality of the Aegean Sea, resulting in improvements to the environment and reducing the potential risk to public health.

The measure will contribute to the realisation of the following key objectives:

• improvement of the water quality in the Maritsa River Basin;
• reduction of the potential risk of groundwater contamination;
• reduction of the potential risk of soil contamination;
• improvement of the protection of the environment of the river basin waters;
• improvement of the protection of the flora/fauna of the riverine environment;
• reduction of the risks to human health for the population living in the target areas served by the new WWTPs;
• reduction of pollution in the Trans-border region, including the Aegean sea.

COMPONENTS OF THE MEASURE:

Component 1: Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora is located in the plain of the Maritsa River Basin, at the foot of the southern slopes of the Sredna Gora Mountains. The City of Stara Zagora has a current population of approximately 150 000. The design horizon for the treatment plant is 2020 and the forecast is that the population will increase to 175 000 by the end of this period.

The city sewers drain into the Bedechka River, which flows into the Sazliyka River - a tributary of the Maritsa River. Previous assessments of the water quality showed the Bedechka River to be heavily pol-luted. The pollution loading increases during a drought period because of reduced dilution.

A site for the new wastewater treatment plant has been acquired and the location complies with the regulations set by the Bulgarian Ministry of Health.

This component includes:

• New main incoming collector to the WWTP (2.0m diameter pipe approximately 1.1 km long);
• Access road to connect site to nearest public road;
• Wastewater Treatment Plant comprising:

• Storm overflow;
• Inlet pumping station;
• Inlet Works for screening, grit removal, flow measurement and sampling;
• Interconnecting pipework;
• Aeration tanks;
• Effluent discharge to river including flow measurement and sampling;
• Sludge treatment plant and storage;
• Building with control room, offices, laboratory etc.;
• Workshop;
• Site roads and services.

Component 2: Dimitrovgrad WWtP

The city currently has a population of about 53 000 with 43 000 people living in the city on the right river bank and 10 000 people living on the left river bank in the districts of Tchernokonevo, Vulkan, Mari-yno and Mlada Gvardia. The forecasted total population equivalent for the year 2020 is 68 500.

The proposed wastewater treatment plant is to be located at the site of a partially built treatment plant. The construction of this wastewater treatment plant started in the mid 1980’s, but construction was sus-pended in the early 1990’s.

This component includes:

• Preparation of site of existing works;
• Wastewater Treatment Plant comprising;
• Storm overflow;
• Inlet pumping station;

• Inlet works for screening, grit removal, flow measurement and sampling;
• Interconnecting pipework;
• Aeration tanks;
• Effluent discharge to river including flow measurement and sampling;
• Sludge treatment plant and storage;
• Building with control room, offices, laboratory, etc.;
• Workshop;
• Site roads and services.