Israel Environment Bulletin 2004 Vol 27

8/14/2019 Israel Environment Bulletin 2004 Vol 27

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ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN

volume 27

Ministry of the Environment

March

Sta te of Israe l

Ministry of the Environment

Cover photo:AvrahamMatiash

EnvironmentalAchievements:2003 6

With aFac e tothe Pub lic

32www.environment.gov.

2004


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2

n n

3From our Direc to r Gene ral, Dr. Miriam Haran

In a spe c ial end -of-the-year interview, Directo r Gene ral Dr.

Miria m Hara n reflec ts on the ministry's ac hieve me nts in 2003.

Dear Rea der:Volum e 27 o f Israe l Environment Bulletin introduc e

new fo rma t for the Bulletin. We hop e tha t this n

de sign, ac co mp anied b y our co ntinuing c overa

of developments in Israeli environmental policy,

affo rd our read ers a n ew me asure of interest in

environme nt in Israe l.

The c urrent volume of th e Bulletin foc uses on

ministry's go a ls a nd a c hieve me nts for 2003. Th

ove rall go als relat e to six c entral c om po nents of

ministry's work: municipal and industrial waste treatm

wa ter pollution prevention and river restoration, po llu

reduc tion from transpo rtation a nd industrial sourc

trea tment of life-threa tening ho tspo ts, the environm

as a c ata lyst for ec onomic growth and nationa l inter

and improvement of the urba n env ironment a

preservation of o pe n spa c es. While lac k of spa

p revent s us from surveying a ll of our ac hieve me

we have chosen to focus on o ne spec if ic objec t

within each overall goal in order to provide our read

with a g limpse o f the c hallenge s and op po rtuni

facing Israel at this junction.

We are also p leased to inform our rea de rs tha t

upd ated English website - www.environment.gov.il/eng

- is now online. This interac tive

website fea tures an e-bulletin,

devoted to a different subject

e a c h m o n t h , a lo n g w it h

u p d a t e d in f o rm a t i o n o n

environmenta l topics, breaking

new s items and muc h more.

We d o h o p e t h a t y o u w i ll

subsc ribe to this free e-bulletin

online. At the same time, Israel Environment Bulle

which w ill now be p ublished twice a year, will contin

to b ring you spe c ia l fea tures on env i ronmen

developments in Israel.

Shoshana Ga bb

Editor

Inquiries should be addressed to : Israe l Environme nt Bulle

P.O.B. 34033, Jerusalem 95464, Israel

Telep ho ne : 972-2-6553777, Fax: 972-2-6535934

http://www.environment.gov.il/english

E-ma il: shoshana @env ironme nt.gov.il

Prof. Yehudith Naot, Minister of the Environment

Dr. Miriam Haran, Director General

10Internat iona l Prize to the Alexand er River

Restora tion Project

The interdisc iplina ry ap proa c h ad op ted in this river

restorat ion e ffort ea rns the Alexand er River Restoration

Project first prize in an international competition.

14

Clea ning Up Israe l's Air: Foc using o n Vehicle Pollution

The p repa ration of an ac tion p lan o n the reduc tion

of p ol lut ion from transpo rtation source s ma y a l low

Israelis to brea the ea sier.

6Treating Co nstruct ion and Dem olition Waste

A go vernment d ec ision paves the wa y for new solutions

to the problem of co nstruction and dem olition w aste,

the large st fraction o f solid wa ste in the c ountry.

18Tow ard Reme diation o f Ram at Hova v

D esp i t e m a j o r im p rovem en t s a t Ram a t Hova v ,

remediation is imperative in order to transform the

site into a mo de rn site for the trea tme nt of ha zardo us

waste.

22Government Approves Sustainable Development Plan

Step s are no w b eing ta ken to translate a M ay 2003

go vernment d ec ision on sustainab le d evelopm ent

into a reality.

24Environm ent al Co nsidera tions in Municip al Elec tions

The results of a survey, un d erta ken la st sum me r,

unde rline the importanc e of e nvironm enta l issues to

residen ts of c ities throug hou t Israel.

26International Cooperation

Mr. Lucien Cha ba son, outgo ing Coo rdinator of the Me diterranean

Ac tion Plan, shares his tho ug hts.

29

Environm ent al Leg islation

Israel promulga tes new reg ulations on a variety of subjec ts.

32With a Fac e to the Public

The Ministry of the Environm ent com po und s its efforts to prom ote

environmenta l aw areness and pub lic pa rt icipa tion.

Cover photo: Avraham Ma tiash, First Prize, Fifth Photog rap hy C om pe tition

on Na ture and Environm ent, founde d b y the Soc iety for the Protec tion

of Na ture in Israel a nd the m ag a zine "Eretz v' Teva " in c oo pe ration w ith

the Ministries ofEnvironm ent an d Tourism.Small photos: Ministry of the Environment, Eyal Yaffe, Motti Sela

Design: Stud io Billet


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g

Direc to r Genera l, Ministry of the EnvironmentInterview: Dr. Miriam Haran

In recent years, the Ministry of the Environmenthas set specific goals for achievement. How a re

these goals determined?

Our c oun try is sma ll in size, d ense in po pulation,

and plagued by wa ter and land sca rcity. Under

these c ond it ions, we ha d to formulate g oa ls,

ob ject ives an d m ilestone s for imp lemen ta tion

that w ould a llow Israe l to c ontinue to d eve lop

in a sustainable ma nner, to provide a g ood quality

of life and the environment to its po pula tion, to

preserve a nd improve its scarce natural resources,

and to safe gua rd the he alth of its residents.

It is an integral pa rt of our po licy to reeva luate

and update each years go a ls on the basis of

de velop ments in Israel and w orldw ide. This yea r

we to ok spe cia l note o f the Joha nnesburg World

Summit on Sustainab le Development and , therefore,

in setting our goa ls for 2004, we oriented ourselves

to sustainable d evelop ment principles.

My previous experience in the Ministry of the

Environment, both as Chief Scientist and as Deputy

Direc tor Ge nera l for Ind ustries, has given m e a

broad vision o f po licy issues. As Direc tor Gene ral,

I am co mmitted to fostering c ontinuous dialog ue

and coo peration among all de pa rtments of the

ministry in o rde r to p rom ote integration, monitorac hievements and shortfallings, and guide our

efforts tow ard the fulfillment o f our g oa ls.

Yet our responsibility a lso extend s to the pub lic

at large, to the pr ivate sec tor and to o ther

government b od ies. We a re d oing our utmost to

bring this future-oriented vision o f susta inab ility

to a ll of these sec tors through dialogue, cooperation

and g uidance.

Can you point to examples, from ouraction plan, which incorporate social

and economic components in addition

to environmental aspects?

There are numerous examples. Such

ob jectives as imp roving the q uality

of the environment in urban centers,

preserving open spaces, assuring

op en a cc ess to the co astline w hile

prevent ing p rivate d evelopme nt

along the shoreline, p romoting p ublic

transportation all illustrate our growing

c on c ern for soc ial issues. Similarly,our op po sition to the establishme nt

of ano ther coal-fi red po wer plant

and our propo sed landfill and hazardo us wa ste

fees take a cc ount of ec onom ic co nside rations.

We have ma naged to show tha t the external costs

of a ir po llution and landfilling, for exam ple, are ve ry

co stly to the e co nomy. In these a nd other ca ses,

we then forwarded alternatives that p romise to be

more beneficial for the ec onomy, the environment

and the soc iety.

Were the goals and objectives for 2003 achieved?

For the m ost p art, we w ere a ble to fulfill ma ny of

our goa ls to som e d eg ree som etime s mo re,

so m e t i m e s l e ss. M a n y o f o u r se t b a c k s o rdisap po intments were due to dep ende nce on

other bod ies or legislative p roc esses.

For examp le, in the a rea of w aste treatm ent, we

suc c ee d ed in closing the last of Israel s larg e

unregulated landfills, in Retamim in northern Ashdod.

At the sam e time, we prepa red ac tion p lans for

othe r com po nents of our wa ste stream, na me ly,

construction and demolition waste and w aste tires.

Preservingopen

spac e is acritical issue

Photos: Motti Sela, Eyal Yaffe


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Theenvironmentaltechnologiesma rket holdstremendouseconomicpotential

environme ntal te chno logies in environme ntal

co mp lianc e. Sec ond , we must co nvince the

releva nt autho rit ies tha t the environm enta l

technologies market holds tremendous economic

po tent ial. To my mind, there is a d irec t co rrelat ion

b e t w e e n su st a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t a n denvironmental technologies. We have much to

ga in, environmenta lly, econom ically and soc ially,

by developing this market.

What is your vision for the long-term?

I would like to see our goals implemente d in the

spirit of sustainable developm ent. We now rea lize,

for exam ple, that the p reservation of open spa ce

is a c ritica l issue in a d ensely po pulated c ount ry

suc h as Israel whic h lac ks a c ontinuity of op en

space.

There a re still those in this c oun try who eq ua teec onomic growth with ac ce lerated building and

development anywhere and eve rywhere. Our

c hallenge is to c onvince all releva nt bo dies,pub lic as well as private , that th e loss of o pe n

space to building and d evelopment is an irreversible

proc ess. For this pu rpo se, we are a dvo ca ting a

policy which calls for strengthening our existing

c ities and p reserving the co ntinuity of open spa ce

througho ut the c ountry.

Anothe r ce ntral prob lem relates to the q uantity

an d qu ality of our wa ter resource s. We m ust

increase o ur wate r invento ry bo th for our own

po pulation and for the sake o f the entire region,

where pop ulations co ntinue to grow a nd w atersources ma y dwindle due to c lima te cha nge.

For this purpose, we have assessed the ec onomic

c osts of inc reasing o ur wa ter supp ly - trea ting

some 500 cub ic me ters of wa stewa ter to a level

ena bling u nrestrict ed irriga tion, d esalinating

sea wa ter and saline wa ter, and treating wa ter

wells which were contaminated by industry.

My d ream is to increase our wate r supp ly without

pum ping wa ter from Lake Kinneret so tha t its

wa ters may o nce ag ain f low into the Jorda n

River and the Dea d Sea . This ma y help us avert

the imp end ing c risis in the Dea d Sea who se

steadily declining water level is already threateningthe ecosystem, infrastructure and tourism potential

of this glob ally unique a rea. And o f co urse, we

will continue to ad dress prob lems suc h as wa ste

and air po llution, which impa ct not only on our

quality of life but on life itself.

About two-thirds of the staffers at the Ministry of

the Environment are women. Prof. Yehudith Naot

is the third woman to hold the position of Minister

of the Environme nt and you a re the seco nd

woma n to be appointed direc tor general. Would

you like to relate to this phenomenon?

It is an honor and a n ac hievement that we have

so ma ny highly ed uca ted w ome n holding high

positions in the ministry, not only the minister and

director general, but a lso deputy direc tor generalsand directors of different departments.

Perhap s wo men a re draw n to environme ntal

issues be c a use the y are ea ge r to m ake a

co ntribution, to wo rk tow ard a most just soc iety

whic h o ffers a ll residen ts a bette r qua lity of life

not o nly tod ay b ut tomo rrow as well. Yet it is

impo rta nt for me to say that all of our staffers,

m en a nd w o m en a li ke , a re m o t i v a t ed b y

de dic at ion an d p rofessiona lism. They a re our

greatest assets.

I would a lso like to take this op po rtunity to tha nkour Environment Minister, Prof. Yehud ith Naot , for

choo sing me fo r this po sition hopefully not only

be ca use I am a wom an, but also b ased o n my

ed uca tion and professional experienc e. I hop e

the se w i ll sta nd me we l l in helping to fu l f il l

t h e d i v e r se g o a l s o f t h e M i n i st r y o f t h e

Environment.

Photos: Motti Sela , Eyal Yaffe


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Demolition

Trea ting

Dry wa ste d umpe d in HaderaPhoto: Solid Waste Division

ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27

Trea ting m unicipa l and ind ustria l wa ste

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Reducing airpollution

fromtransportationand industrial

sources

Catalyzingeconomic

growth andnationalinterests

Imp roving theurban

environmentand

preservingopen spac es

WasteConstruction&

Trea ting life-threatening

hotspots

he M inistry of the Environm ent is dete rmined

to r id t he c ount ry of unsightly heap s of

c onstruct ion a nd d emo lition waste a nd to

transform this wa ste from nuisance to resource

Acc elerated construction, development and road

bu ild ing in Israel lea ve sign ific a nt q ua ntities of

co nstruction and de mo lition waste in their wa ke.

This wa ste a ll too frequent ly find s its wa y to o pen

spa ce s and roa dsides throughout the c ountry. In

ad dition to landsc ap e b light, imprope r dispo sal

of c onstruction wa ste is respo nsible fo r a host o f

environmental and health nuisances including

groundw ate r conta mination, air po llution in c ase

of fires, and lowered prop erty values.Construction and demolition waste constitutes

the largest frac tion in the tota l wa ste gene rated

by the c ountry. Some 7.5 million tons of c onstruction

wa ste a re g enerate d in Israe l eac h yea r - some

140% mo re than the tota l quan tity of househo ld

wa ste which is prod uc ed in this co untry. Yet only

11 authorized sites for dry waste exist in Israe l, and

only one million to ns reac h these designated sites

(about 14%). Such a small number of sites, most

of them situated far awa y from the source o f the

waste, ca nnot p ossibly ab sorb the huge qua ntities

of waste which are generated ea ch yea r.

Moving from Pessimism to OptimismUntil recently, the situation appeared hopeless.

Only a ha ndful of rec ycling a nd land fill sites for

construc tion w aste existed in Israel, there wa s no

municipal collec tion a nd transport system ca pa ble

of ha nd ling this wa ste, there w ere no uniform

stand ards in loc al a uthorities for the trea tment of

dry waste, there was no mecha nism for determining


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wa ste qua nt i ties for the p urpo se o f grant ing

building p ermits, there w as no b udg et to clea n

up and rehabilitate open a rea s, and the Ministry

of the Env ironme nt d id not have a de qua te

resources to undertake enforce ment, on the one

hand , and to a id loca l au thorities in solving the

problem, on the other hand.

Tod ay, there is reason for op timism. The influx of

funds for the sole p urpose of solving the prob lem,

ca talyzed by a gove rnment d ec ision, may p rove

a landma rk in Israel s treatme nt of its construc tion

and de mo lition waste. The goa l: to regulate the

dispo sal and treatment o f this wa ste, prevent the

pollution of open spaces, and rehabilitate disturbed

area s - all within a three-yea r period .

Government Resolution on Construction

and Demolition Waste

To he lp address the p roblem, the Israel governmentresolved , in a Feb ruary 2003 dec ision, to und ertake

a variety of m easures, on b oth the loca l and

nationa l fronts. Spec ifically, it called "on the Minister

of the Environm ent to regulate the treatm ent of

co nstruc tion and d emo lition waste throughout

Israel within three yea rs, and no la ter tha n the

end of 2005, in orde r to clean up areas po lluted

by c onstruction wa ste."

g

Some 7.5million tons ofconstruction

wa ste a regenerated in

Israel eac hyear

Establishment a nd ope ration of transfer

stations for bulky waste in local authorities.

Estab lishment of a uthorized landfill sites

for dry wa ste.

Estab lishment of shredding and recyclinginfrastructures for construction and

demolition waste.

Developm ent of reuse technologies for

construction wa ste and recycled w aste.

Cleanup and rehabilitation of polluted

op en a rea s.

Operat ion of a nat ional enforcement

and inspe c tion system .

Advancement of municipal bylaws on

co nstruction a nd de molition wa ste.

Financ ial aid to loca l authorities for the

estab lishment o f rec ycling infrastructures

and transfer stat ions and to private

entrep reneurs for recyc ling projec ts.

Alloc ation of NIS 54 million for a three-

yea r period to financ e these a ct ivities.

Government Resolution onConstruction and Demolition Waste:

Highlights


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Trea ting m unicipa l and ind ustria l waste

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand

preservingopen spa ces


hotspots

From Plan to ActionTo help solve the p roblem a nd to implement the

go vernme nt d ec ision , t he M in ist ry o f t he

Environment has formulated a two-phase plan

for the d ispo sal a nd treatme nt of c onstruction

and demolition w aste: stopping the illegal disposalof this waste and assuring that it reaches authorized

sites, in the first phase, and advancing alternatives

to landfilling, including recycling and reuse, in

the sec ond pha se.

To tra nslate p lan into a c tion, nume rous step s

have alread y be en init iate d. Tend ers for the

establishment of disposal sites for construction

and dem ol it ion wa ste are being prepa red,

c leanup and rehab ilitation of som e sites has

bee n initiated , cleanup of op en spa ces in which

co nstruction a nd d emo lit ion waste ha s be en

dump ed has be gun, several comp anies areproviding shredd ing a nd crushing servic es for

this wa ste, and nume rous local authorities have

begun to incorporate c ond itions in their tenders

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT - 1993-2003 All of Israels major dump sites (77 out o f 77) were c losed .

Seven m ed ium to large land fills are b eing b uilt or upg rad ed .

Rec ycling ha s go ne up from 3% to 20%.

More tha n 75% of the wa ste is d isposed in co ntrolled sites.

107 loc al au tho rities (50% of the pop ulation) ha ve rec eived a subsidy of over $80 million

for c losing large dump s and transpo rting their wastes to sta te-of-the-art land fills.

Reduc tion of Illega l Waste Sites - 1993-2003

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

12236

9

27

41

747677

numberofsites

Illega l construction w aste dump in Or Akiva, whicwas subsequently cleaned up by order of the Ministrof the Environm entPhoto: Yossi Bar

Red ucing airpollution


sources


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g

Over the p ast ten years we m ana ged tosolve o ur mun icipa l wa ste p rob lem. The

time has now c ome to dea l with an even

greater prob lem - construction and demolition

wa ste. This is a p roblem of hug e p roportions

involving q uan tities one a nd a half time s

greater than municipal wa ste.

Unl ike municipa l waste, which m ay b e

transported over wide distanc es to peripheral

areas, long -rang e transpo rt is not a n op tion

for b ulk wa stes. The big ge st p roblem lies

in the c entral region o f the c ountry whe re dispo sal sites for building

de bris simply do not e xist a lthough a large po rtion o f the c ountrys

c onstruction wa ste is ge nerate d the re. A survey, whic h we rec ently

co nduc ted , show ed that e ven if all ab and oned qua rries in the Tel Aviv

and ce ntral distric ts we re ma de ava ilab le for this wa ste, they w ould

be filled up within two yea rs. We, along with the Israel Lands Administration,

are the refore examining the o ption o f dispo sal in operating q uarries in

the region.

In pa rallel, I am glad to say tha t a tender has been issued for the recyc ling

and crushing of c onstruction a nd demolition waste a t the Hiriya recyc ling

site. Future m ont hs shou ld see the sorting of t his wa ste a t the site - w ith

rec yclable c omp onents go ing for rec ycling and the rest b eing used

to help m od erate the slope of the 80-me ter high forme r land fill, which

wa s closed do wn in 1998, and is now de stined for reha bilitation as pa rt

of a larger project for the Ayalon metropo litan pa rk.

We a re enc ouraging recyc l ing a nd crushing in order to p revent

environm enta l de grad ation and to transform dry waste from nuisanc e

to resource - whethe r as a substrate for roads or for reuse in the construction

sec tor with assoc iated co mponents going to rec ycling. We are w orking

with every possible stakeholder - the Israel Lands Administration, local

autho rities, planning c ommittees - to ensure strict c ontrol and enforcement

at e very stag e. On our pa rt, we e xpec t to reinforce o ur inspe ction a nd

enforcement c ap ab ilities with the ad dition of muc h neede d m anp ower,

including d ed ica ted inspe cto rs of the Green Police who will launc hregiona l enforceme nt ca mpaigns, undertake surveillance and co nduc t

investigations.

I wo uld like to be lieve tha t this new initiative w ill ma tc h our suc c ess in

closing d own a ll of the c ountrys ma jor dum ps and rep lacing them with

state-of-the-art landfills. 2004 should see a real breakthrough.

GIL YANIV ON CONSTRUCTION AND

DEMOLITION WASTE

which m and ate c rushing follow ing large -sc ale

demolition projects.

And last but not least, the Ministry of the Environment

has ca lled on loca l authorities to subm it proposals

for the establishme nt o f solid w aste infrastructures,

includ ing sites for the d isp osa l or trea tme nt of

c onstruction a nd de mo lit ion wa ste. Based onstric t c riteria, financ ial suppo rt (50% of the to ta l

c ost) wi l l be provided to the highe st sc oring

projects.

Hopefully the comb ination of government dec ision,

ac tion plan, funding, stakeholder co op eration

an d m arket forces will help rid the c ountry of

unsigh t l y hea ps o f wa ste w h i le p rov id ing

environm ent-friendly d ispo sal a nd recyc l ing

solutions to the c omplex prob lem of c onstruction

and dem olition wa ste in Israel.

Deputy Direc tor General for Infrastructure


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Preventing w ate r po llution a nd restoring rivers

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Reduc ing airpollution


sources

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

prestigious interna tiona l p rize reinforces

Israel's commitment to river restoration

The restora tion p rojec t fo r the A lexand er River,

which flows some 32 kilometers from the Palestinian

c i ty of Na b lus in the Sa ma r ia n Hil ls to the

Med iterranean Sea north of Netanya, was initiated

in 1995 with the e stablishment o f the A lexand er

River Resto ration Ad ministratio n. In 2003, theAlexand er River Restorat ion Project wa s aw arded

one of the world's most prestigious international

prizes for excellenc e in river mana ge ment - the

Thiess Interna tiona l Riverp rize.

How to stop the pollution w hich has plagued the

river for over 50 years and transform it into a river

of life? For the p ast eigh t yea rs, the Alexand er

River Restoration Administration, a twenty-member

voluntary bo dy hea de d by the M inistry of the

Environm ent , the Jew ish Nationa l Fund , the Emek

Hefer Reg iona l Counc il, the Sha ron Dra inag e

Aut hority an d the Israe l Gove rnme nt Tou rismComp any, has grap pled with just this question.

A s t h e b o d y c h a r g e d w i t h p la n n i n g ,

implementation, management and maintenance

of the Alexande r River within the c onte xt o

550 km 2 river basin, the Administration ha s op

for a c om prehe nsive and mul t id isc ip l in

ap proac h. Public pa rticipa tion is pa ram oun

this ap proach. Both c hildren and a dults are dee

involved in a ll levels of a ct ivity, and all ac tiv

are c ond ucte d und er the sloga n "Returning

River to the People."

From Dream to RealityThe projec t a dd resses a wide variety of restora

issues, including wa ter supply, removal o f polluta

development of river parks, eco logica l rehabilitat

pub lic involvement, educ ation, drainage a

flood de fense. To date, ab out $12.5 million h

b ee n invested in the projec t, most of it b y

Ministry of the Environment a nd the Jewish Nat io

Fund. Follow ing a re som e o f the a ch ieveme

C o m p le t io n o f a m a st e rp l a n w h ic h

gene rated ma ny related projects.

Remo val of the ma in sources of po l lut ioincluding the sewa ge of Netanya a nd K

Yona and, to a lesser de gree, the Na blus R

sewage.

Alexand er RiverInternational Prize To The

Restora tion Projec t

Annua l Pollution Loads in Ma jor Israe l Strea ms

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0T.Organic Carbon Total Nitrogen Tot al Phospho rus

22,852

11,55910,318

9,039

6,607

4,775

6,530

2,6832,284

tons/year


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g

Alexande r River Photo: Eyal Yaffe

The Alexander

River Resto rat ionProjec t was

awa rded one ofthe world's most

prestigiousinternational

prizes forexcellenc e in river

management


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Preventing w ate r po llution a nd restoring rivers

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

A de monstration projec t involving the sce nic,visual, eco logica l and d rainag e restoration of

a 750 m sec tion.

Develop ment o f seven r iver parks and river

pa ths (pe de strian a s we ll as bicyc le) along

different parts of the river.

Planting of mo re than 10,000 trees along river

stretches.

Flood de fense a nd dra inag e w orks using

environm enta lly friendly me thod s.

Spe cific p rojects to p rotec t the rare Nile soft-

shell turtles, which m ay rea c h up to 120 cm in

length and w eigh up to 70 kg. Reha bi l itat ion of the natural ec osystem to

enc ourage the return of aqua tic spec ies by

the building o f riffles and fish lad ders, for examp le.

Ecology Knows No BordersAn impo rtant element in the de c ision to gr

the prestigious prize to this particula r restora t

project w as the co op eration b etwee n Isra

and Palestinians in clea ning up the river. W

the ult ima te ob ject ive is to estab l ish a jo

wa stewa ter trea tment p lant for the Emek He

Reg iona l Cou nc il (Israe li) a nd the Tul Ka r

District (Palestinian), an "Emergency Project"

the treatm ent o f the Na blus River sewa ge w

constructed as an interim solution. It is no won

therefore, that at the a wa rd c eremony,

project wa s hailed as a "unique bridg e b etwethe Israeli and Palestinian p eo p le, enab l

co op eration on an e co logica l issue that kno

no political borders, even during difficult tim

Tota l Orga nic Ca rbon in Ma jor Israeli Streams

Tota l Phosphorus in Ma jor Israe li Strea ms

Soreq Kishon Harod Hadera Besor Alexander Yarkon Ta ninim Naaman Ayalon Poleg Lachish

491

338

388

4,6

69

935

545

309

103

103

206

226

212

205

275

290

205

200

161

194

147

148

46

20

31

103

114

89

37 2

28

228

58

79

78

7 18

11

5,000

4,500

4,000

3,500

3,0002,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0Soreq Kish o n Ha ro d Ha d e ra Be so r Alexander Yarkon Ta ninim Naaman Ayalon Poleg Lachish

7806

846 1

080

5827

2404

983

3101

1490

1490

2040

331

53

1

1350

2290

1985

850

1930

1856

552

626

730

419

191

336

350

544

482

320 7

32

74

1

19

2

75

35

45

100

69

tons/year

Red ucing airpollution


sources

tons/year


13/36

g

Twelvecoa sta l riversand two rivers

in the easternbasin arecurrently

undergoingrestoration

Kishon River: The fina l seven kilom et ers o f this 70-kilom et er long rive r,

which emp ties into the sea nea r Haifa, have long b een p lag ued by

hea vy po llution from ind ustrial effluents a nd m unicipa l wa stew at er.

Rec ent ye a rs ha ve see n the transforma tion of this "dea d " river into a

river in wh ich life exists at a limited scale. This transformation w as largely

due to the investment o f ma jor resourc es by the industria l plants and

Haifa's municipal wastewater treatment plant.

Yarkon River: This 28-kilom eter long river flows through Tel Aviv. To improve

the state of the river, a Yarkon River Authority was set up in 1988, a

gove rnment d ec ision ca lled for the c onservation o f the river and its

vicinity as the "green lung" of the Tel Aviv me tropo litan area in 1996 and

go vernment ap proval of a restoration and d evelop ment p lan for the

river follow ed in 2003, c alling fo r the a lloc a tion of one million cu bic

me ters a ye ar of wa ter to t he Yarkon River, in the first stage.

Harod River: The 35-kilome ter long Harod River, who se wa tershed ba sin

enc om passes 190 km2, flows in the Jezreel a nd Beit She'a n Valleys into

the Jorda n River. Domestic a nd industrial sewag e discharge, ag ricultural

drainage and discha rge of fishpo nd w aters have long ha mp ered the

inherent pote ntial of the river for tourism d eve lopment. The establishment

of a regional river ad ministration has resulted in the prep aration o f a

comprehensive masterplan and in the establishment of riverside parks.

Taninim River ("Crocodile River"): This c oa sta l strea m is the last rela tively

unp olluted c oa sta l stream in Israel. A river a dm inistration fo r the 25-

kilom eter long Taninim River wa s estab lished in 1998. The m asterpla n

for the river aims at preserving the river's ecosystem, on the one hand,

and restoring and preserving the a ncient w ate r supp ly and transpo rt

system co nstruc ted by the Roma ns in the Cae sarea area , on the o ther

hand.

Besor River: The Besor River is the longest of Israel's rivers flowing into the

Med iterran ea n, with a w ate rshed ba sin enc om pa ssing 3,700 squa rekilometers. Planning for restorat ion of the river was espec ially challeng ing

due to the large physica l area of the river basin, the ab senc e o f an

ava ilab le da tab ase, the p resenc e of q uarries and p olluting industries,

and the river's loc at ion in the arid southern p art o f Israel. The rec ently

co mp leted ma sterplan for this de sert river is expe c ted to serve a s a

model for the restoration of other southern rivers.

And More on River Resto ra tion

Photos Top to Bottom: Eyal Yaffe, Motti Sela , Yeshayahu Bar-Or, Eyal Yaffe,Moshe Milner (Governme nt Press Office )


14/36


Red uc ing air pollution from transp ortationa nd industria l sourc es

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

Vehicular pollution is a severe problem in Israel.

The d rama tic increase in the numb er of ca rs on

Israel's cong ested road s - rea ching abo ut 2 million

in 2003 (double the numb er just a d ec ad e a go)

- has exace rba ted the p rob lem as has the

co mp osition of the vehicle fleet w hich include s

diesel-pow ered buses and trucks. Mo nitoringresults have shown that diesel-powered vehicles

are respo nsible for most of the nitroge n o xide s

and particulates emissions (some 80% of the total

vehicular emissions).

Epidemiological surveys in Israel and worldwide

have revea led that long-term exposure to even

low levels of air pollution is associated with increased

mortality (more than 1000 de aths pe r yea r) and

morbidity (tens of thousands of c ases of respirat

cardio-vascular and c irculato ry disea se). It i

wonder, then, tha t the Ministry of the Environm

ha s put red uc tion o f air po llution high on it

of priorities.

Working to Reduce Vehicular PollutRec ent ye ars ha ve see n a flurry of ac tivit

improve fuel qua lity, increase roadside inspect

enforce emission standards, and promote n

tec hno log ies. O f spe c ia l imp or tanc e

go vernment d ec ision, taken in Dec emb er 2

which c alls for the prepa ration of a n ac tion p

on the reduction of pollution from the transporta

sector.

Tod ay, the interministerial te am , which w

spec ifically set up to imp lement the governm

decision, is consolidating its final recommendat

Foc using On Vehic leCleaning Up Israel's Air:

Pollutionsrael is intent o n p roviding its p op ulation

with a ba sic right: clean a ir



sources


15/36

Mo to r Veh icles in Israe l

g

Contribution of Different Sectors to Air Pollution Emissions

Diesel-powered

vehicles a reresponsib le formo st of the

nitrog en oxidesand particulates

emissions

for gove rnment a pp roval. Propo sals include a

wide va riety of measures ba sed on ec ono mic,

legislative a nd tec hnologica l step s to reduc e

vehicular emissions. Following are some examples:

Imp roving fuel quality for transpo rtation;

Enco urag ing the scrap ping of old vehicles;

In t roduc ing upd a t ed and m ore st ringen t

requirements in a nnua l vehic le registration tests;

Restricting the moveme nt of polluting vehicles

in de nsely-pop ulated po lluted areas;

Introduc ing natural ga s and liquefied petroleumgas for transportation use;

Promo ting clean pub lic transpo rtation.

While final rec omm end ations for an ac tion plan

will on ly be fina lized in the nea r future, seve ral

measures are a lrea dy being imp lemented . These,

along with the mea sures planned for the near

future, are sure to make a real differenc e - a llowing

Israel's residents to breathe easier.

2,000

1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

1,

015

1,0

75

1,

176

1,2

61

1,3

73

1,4

59

1,

543

1,6

17

1,

675

1,

730

1,8

31

1,9

15

1,

960

thousa

nd

s

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%CO2 CO SO2 NOX SPM

59%

14%

5%

22%

99%

1%

70%

25%

4%1%

39%

5%

55%

1% 1%

30%

31%

38%

electricity produc tion motor vehiclesindustry spa ce hea ting

Sourc e: Cent ral Bureau o f Sta tistics


16/36

NOx Annua l Averages in Transporta tion Sta tions in Jerusa lem 1999-2002

ISRAEL ENVIRONM ENT BULLETIN. vol 27

Red uc ing a ir po llution from transpo rta tiona nd industria l sourc es

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

NOx Half-Hour Excee danc es in Transportat ion Sta tions in Jerusa lem 2000-20

Half-Hou r Exce ed a nc es of NO x in Tel Aviv Area Transp orta tion Sta tions 1998-200

2000 2001 2002

Klal Bar-Ilan

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

1000

834

284

190

13271

1999 2000 2001 2002

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 Kla l Bar-Ila n

261

227

179

151

101 94

2000 2001 200219991998

600

500

400

300

200

100

0Amiel-Tel Aviv Ironi D-Tel Aviv Tip a t Ha lav-

Tel AvivRemez-Bnei

BrakIron i TZ-Tel Av iv

78 8

9

48

53 7

4

136

3

03

115

105

110

66

228

48

90

38

212

569

224

3

33

238

331

246

148

292

215

Red ucing a irpollution


sources

no.

ofexce

ed

a

nces

no.

ofexceed

a

nces

a

nnua

la

vera

ge

(p

p

b

)


17/36

NOx Annua l Averages in Transporta tion Sta tions in Tel Aviv 1998-2002

g

Israel isintroducingcleaner fuelsfor a cleanerenvironment

And More on River Resto ra tion As of Janua ry 2004, ga s sta tions no long er ca rry diesel fuel with a sulfur c onte nt abo ve 50

ppm.

As of Janua ry 2004, lead ed ga soline is no long er ava ila ble in Israel. A new stand ard fo rga soline substitutes a pota ssium-based ad ditive for lead in 96-oc tane g asoline.

As of January 2004, the sulfur c ontent of ga s has be en reduc ed from 1500 pp m to 150 pp m

and a 42% limit has bee n set o n a rom atic substanc es in 96-oc tane ga soline w here no

limita tions existed previously.

The Standa rds Institution of Israel is in the fina l stage s of setting a ga soline standa rd w ith a

50-ppm sulfur co ntent a cc ording to a Europ ea n spe cifica tion.

The M inistry of the Environm ent ha s initiate d fo ur resea rch stud ies on th e m ost suitab le

me asures for red uc ing veh icular po llution und er Israeli cond it ions which foc us on th e

pe rformanc e o f buses using d iesel oxida tion c ata lytic c onve rters, pa rticulate traps in

c omb ination with oxida tion ca talysts, continuous reg enerating trap s, and diesel pa rticulate

filters.

An ec onomic a ssessment o f the fea sibility of scrap ping o ld vehicles show ed that scrap pingis be neficial both to the environme nt and to the ec onom y.

What is being d one tod ay to red uc e e missions tom orrow ?

2000 2001 200219991998

99 1

01

88

93

98

98

107

104

87

81

76

82

6

4

91

106

86 8

9

82

112

100

93

104

99

6

4

6

3

120

100

80

60

40

20

0Amiel-Tel Aviv Ironi D-Tel Aviv Tipat Halav-

Tel AvivRemez-Bnei BrakIroni TZ-Tel Aviv

annualaverage(ppb)


18/36


Trea ting life-threatening hotspots

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

Safe ty and e nvironm enta l sta nda rd s at the

Ram at Hova v ha za rdo us wa ste site, loc ate d

a b o u t 1 2 k m so u t h o f Be e r sh e b a i n t h e

northern Neg ev, were que st ionab le at be st

on l y a f ew y ea rs a go . Tod a y , t he si t e i s

gradua l ly be ing t ransformed into a mod ern

site for the trea tme nt of ha za rdous wa ste. Theca talyst ma y well have bee n a f ire tha t broke

out at the site in Aug ust 1998. It und erlined the

fact tha t something had to be do ne to stop

the ticking time b omb .

A n d t h in g s w e r e i nd e e d d o n e s o m e

immed iately, othe rs over a long er period of

t ime . In 1999 a nd ea rly 2000, the fol low ing

ac tivities we re initiated :

The gove rnment a l loc ate d funds for the

in it ia l t rea tme nt of l ife- threat ening r isks

including o ld and leaking a cidic tar pond sand storag e b arrels.

The Env i ronm enta l Serv ic es Co mp a ny ,

w h i c h o p e r a t e s t h e s i t e , st o p p e d

a c c e p t i n g w a st e s f o r w h i c h f e a si b le

t re a t m e n t t e c h n o l o g i e s d i d n o t e x ist ,

de ve lope d ne w t rea tm ent so lu t ions fo r

some of the w astes and improved storag e

co nditions and hand ling proce dures.

The M inistry of the Environ me nt issued n

environme nta l con dit ions to the bu sin

l ic e nse o f t he Ram at Hov a v ha za rd

wa ste treatment p lant.

The Ministry of the Environm en t issue d

international tend er for the prepa ratio

a h i s t o r i c a l s u r v e y , f i e l d s u r v e y a

m a st e rp l an f o r t he rem ed i a t i on o f

hazardous wa ste trea tme nt si te at Ram

Hovav wh ich c ou ld b e ex tended fo r

design and c lose supervision of the remedia

Implementing the Business Licens

ConditionsThe c ond itions set in the b usiness lic ense o f

Environ me nta l Service s Co mp a ny in 2000

n o w b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d . Th e y r e la t e

sa m p l i n g , l a b o r a t o r y a n a l y si s a

identific ation o f all inco ming ha zardo us wa

u n lo a d in g a n d st o ra g e o f t h e w a s

de t e rm ina t i on o f t he p re f e rred t rea t m

tec hno logy , t rea tme nt o f li qu id inorga

wa ste , inc inera t ion o f o rga n ic w aste , rehab i litat ion, ma pp ing a nd d oc umentat

a n d sa f e t y , in sp e c t i o n , e m e rg e n c y a

r e p o rt i n g p r o c e d u r e s. Th e y p r o h i b i t

disc harge o f all wa stes to eva po ration p o

an d c al l for sta bi l izing the ha zardo us wa

de stined for land filling.

Prepa ring for RemediationPerhap s one of the m ost impo rtant and m

pressing i tems on the Ram at Hovav ag en

i s r e m e d i a t i o n . Th e m u l t i - m i ll io n d o

reme d iat ion p roject fo r the si te, ini t iat e

Aug ust 1999, inc lude s five p ha ses: histor

survey (c onc lude d in 11/2000); f ie ld s t

( c o n c l u d e d i n 1 2/ 2 00 1) ; r e m e d i a t

ma sterp lan (c onc luded in 2003) ; de ta

planning; and reme diation.

The a na lysis of t he f ield study results a nd t

co mp ar ison w i th in te rna t iona l ly ac ce p

environme ntal stand ards revea led a gloo

Ramat Hovav

Toward Remed iation Of

hings ma y be fa lling into p lac e in Israel's

central site for hazardo us wa ste t reatm ent



sources

Microfiltration a t the Ram at Hovav plant.Photo: Environmental Services Company


19/36

g

One of themost

importantand m ost

pressing itemson the Rama t

Hovavag enda is

remediation

p i c t u r e : h ig h c o n t a m i n a t i o n o f t h e

und erground o f the site, ma inly affec ting the

brac kish groundwa ter at the up pe r part of the

aq uifer and the to p soi l, with orga nic a s wel l

a s i n o rg a n i c c o m p o u n d s a s w e l l a s

c onta minat ion of the soi l ga s, soi l a nd roc kma terial in the underground by c arcinog enic

or suspec ted ca rcinogenic co mpo unds. It wa s

also found that vo lat ile co ntam inants were

e v a p o r a t in g f ro m t h e g ro u n d w a t e r a n d

threa tening to reac h the surfac e b y migrating

through frac tures.

Recommendations for ActionThe results lef t no d oub t tha t c onta minat ion

p os es se r i ous ri sk s t o p ub l ic he a l t h , t he

environme nt and groundw ate r. It left no d oub t

that remed iation wa s imperative. It wa s left for

the ma sterplan, p ublished in 2003, to po int the

wa y towa rd reme diation. Remed iation targets

are ba sed o n:

Remo val, treatm ent and safe re-de po sition

of the old w aste.

Excava tion, trea tment and safe dep osit ion

of co ntaminate d so i l under and a round

these de po sition area s.

Sec uring of areas by ca pp ing.

Extrac t ion and treatment of co ntaminated

ground wa ter and soil ga s until reac hing the

reco mm end ed Reha bi l ita t ion Threshold

Levels (RTL).

Upg rad i ng o f ex ist i ng w a st e t rea t m en t

technologies and implementat ion of new

technologies.

A c c o r d in g t o t h e p l a n , t h e w a st e i n t h e

northern pa rt of the site will be remove d a nd

t r e a t e d b y t h e En v i ro n m e n t a l Se r v ic e s

Com pa ny while the und erground (soil, wate r,

soi l gas) and the e nt ire southe rn pa rt (wa ter

and underground) wi ll be t reated under the

responsibility o f the Ministry of t he Environme nt.

Priorities for ActionThe p ropo sed remed iation seq uenc e is b ased

on the princ iple that the m ost hazardous area s

w i l l b e t r e a t e d f i rst , t h a t e m i ssi o n s t o

groundwa ter and air will be stopp ed within a

sho r t pe ri od o f t i m e a nd t ha t t he si t e w i ll

r e m a i n o p e r a t i o n a l . Si n c e t h e m o stco ntaminated a reas were found to be two

ac idic ta r pon d s, know n a s BH-1/3 an d BH-2,

t he rem e d i a t i on seq uenc e c a l led f o r t he

stab i lizat ion of the w aste a nd c onta minated

subsoil in the area of these ac idic ponds as a first step .

Tec hnica l spe c ifica t ions ha ve alread y bee n

prepa red for the d esign a nd remed iat ion of

these ta r pond s. Acc ording to the ma sterplan,

their rem ed iation will mark a m ajor milestone

the first pha se o f the Ra ma t Hova v Hazardo us

Waste Treat me nt Site Rem ed iation Projec t.

Aerial view of the Ram at Hovav Hazardous Waste Treatme nt Plant. Ac idic p ond s for reme diation a reat the southea stern p art. Photo : Courtesy of Environm enta l Services Comp any


20/36

Distribution of Haza rdous Waste Treatm ent (2002)

ISRAEL ENVIRONM ENT BULLETIN. vol 27

Trea ting life-threatening hotspots

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Reducingair po llution

fromtransportati

on andindustrial

sources

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

Disposa l of Haza rdous Waste to Rama t Hova v

MICHAL BAR-TOV ON RAMAT HOVAV

Tod ay, nea rly two and a half de ca de s after the Ram at Hova v site

wa s f irst op ened , sound ma nag eme nt o f ha zardo us wa ste i

be co ming a rea l it y . If t he f ir st de ca de wa s cha rac te ri zed bym i sh a p s a n d m ism a n a g e m e n t a n d t h e se c o n d b y t h e

esta blishme nt of trea tme nt a nd n eutra liza tion fac ilities at t he site

the third de ca de wi ll hopeful ly see the introd uct ion of a dd itiona

i m prov em en t s, bo t h i n t e rm s o f si t e r em ed i a t i on and sa f e

ha za rd ous wa ste trea tme nt. The p ric e ta g fo r remed iation is no

c h e a p espe c ia l ly und er tod ay 's b ud ge ta ry co nst ra ints. Ful

imp lementa t ion o f t he p rogram o ut li ned in the m asterp lan i

estimate d at $75 million. Yet de spite the price tag , there is no othe

op tion. The ticking time b omb must b e stopp ed .

recove ry 53%

use as fuel 3% export 6%

disposal 38%

90,000

80,000

70,000

60,000

50,00040,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

096 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002

16,694

45,457 47,778

1,761

47,652

3,076

59,875

4,5005,508

57,592

16,778

3,928

60,686

5,768

3,068

65,846

waste from industry ash from Ecosol extraord inary one-t ime sh ipments

Director, Hazardous Substances Division

tons


21/36

g

Why has the industrial pa rk of Rama t Hovav, which

is adjace nt to the ha zardous waste treatment site,

generated environmental problems?

The situation in the Ra ma t Hova v indu strial a rea,

wh ic h i s loc a t ed som e 10 k ilome ters south o f

Beersheb a, is prob lematic a nd c omp lex due to the

c hara ct er of the industrial plan ts (mo stly c hem ica l

pla nts), the unsuitab le infrastruc ture on w hich th e

industrial area wa s esta blished an d the lac k of an

ap prop riate environm enta l solution to industrial effluents.

What are the major nuisance s associa ted with the

industrial park?

Over the p ast two yea rs, seve re od or event s, whichwere la rge ly d ispe rsed f rom a sur face area o f

some 150 hecta res of eva po ration p ond s, plague d

the residents of the a rea. This prob lem rea c hed

severe p rop ortions last yea r and affec ted the d aily

life of th e surround ing p op ulation. In a dd it ion, a ir

po llution is a p roblem in the a rea.

What ha s the Ministry o f the Environme nt done to

solve the problems?

Firstly, in the mid 1990s, we initiate d a nd fund ed a

soi l survey which revea led a dif f ic ult problem of

po llutan t infiltrat ion to ground wa ter. In respo nse to

ARIK BAR-SADE ON THE RAMAT HOVAVINDUSTRIAL AREA

Director of the Southern District,Ministry of the Environment

requ irem ent s b y the Environ me nt M inistry, the

Ra m a t Ho v a v I n d u st r ia l C o u n c i l, w h i c h i s

respo nsible for the a rea , prep ared an a ction p lan

for stop ping the p ol lut ion a nd reha bi litat ing the

area . This p lan w as ap proved and , to a large

extent, was impleme nted as we ll.

Sec ond ly, in resp onse t o la st yea rs seve re od or

events and lac k of an environm enta l solution for

the w astewa ter of Ram at Hova v, the Environm ent

Ministry c alled o n the p lants to trea t their wastes

in-house rathe r than d isc harging them for joint

t r ea t m e n t b y t he I nd ust r ia l C oun c i l. Thes e

ob l iga t ions we re inc orporate d in the b usinesslicensing conditions of the Industrial Council.

Thi rd ly , we in it ia te d a system of spot c hec ks,

ba sed on stac k sam pling without p rior notice , in

the a rea . There is no q uestion t ha t this led to a

significant improvement in industrial compliance

with e mission req uirem en ts. Tod a y, the ma jor

rema ining p roblem is po lluta nt eva po ration into

the a i r f rom the eva po rat ion p ond s. Once the

eva po ra t ion pond s w i ll be remove d, the last

ma jor po llution p roblem in the ind ustria l area will

be solved.

Hazardous Waste Minimization Project

Ind ust r ia l p la n ts in Israe l a re lea rn ing tha t w as te

min im iza t ion ma kes sense - b o th f ina nc ia l l y a nd

env i ronm ent a l ly . To d r ive the m essa ge hom e, the

M i n i st r y o f t he Env i ronm en t ha s be en p rov i d i ng

f inanc ial aid to industr ies that m inimize their wa stes

since 1999. The inc en tive p rog ram is in line w ith the

ministrys po licy on ha zardo us wa ste trea tment, w hich is

ba sed , in orde r of priority, on the follow ing: Prevention or reduc tion at source .

Rec ycling/ reuse.

Reuse a s an ene rgy source .

Disposal.

Ba sed on a ser ies o f c r it e r ia , inc lud ing red uc t ion

method , tox ic i ty , red uct ion qua nt ity , env ironme ntal

c o n t ri b u t io n a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l f e a si b il it y , t h e

Env i r onm e n t M i n i st r y f ina nc es up t o 40% o f t he

investme nt va lue incurred b y the industrial p lants, up to

a sum of NIS 200,000 (about $45,000).

The c umula tive a nd a nnua l results for the p eriod 1999-

2003 spea k for the mselves:

Com pletion of 28 projec ts be tween 1999-2003.

Tota l investme nt in w aste m inimizat ion p rojec ts: NIS16.5 million.

To t a l f in a n c i a l g r a n t s b y t h e M i n ist r y o f t h e

Environme nt: NIS 3.5 million .

Annua l reduc tion of hazardo us wa ste: 14,500 tons/ yea r.

Annua l f ina nc ial saving s to the industria l plant s: NIS

13.6 m illion / yea r.


22/36

Government Approves


Cata lyzing ec onomic g rowth a ndna tiona l interests

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

In Ma y 2003, the Israel gove rnment una nimously

approved the proposal of Environment Minister

Prof. Yehud ith Naot to p repa re a susta inab le

de velop ment plan fo r Israel.

The g overnment resolved tha t the po licy of the

Gove rnment o f Israel will be ba sed on p rinciples

of sustainab le de velopm ent w hich integ rate : a

dyna mic ec onomy, wise use o f na tural resources,

protec tion of ec osystems and provision of eq ual

op portunities to a ll. This - in orde r to respo nd to

n accordance with a government resolution, ministries are already busy preparing sustaina

development strategies

SustainableDevelopment Plan

the ne ed s of p resent a nd future g eneration

co nt inuat ion to the g overnment d ec ision

Aug ust 4, 2002, and in the sp irit of the dec is

ta ken in the World Sum mit on Susta ina

Developm ent which took place in JohannesbSou t h A f r i c a . In t he sp i ri t o f t h e P la n

Imp lementa tion, eac h go vernment m inistry

prepa re a sustainab le deve lop ment strate

pla n until the yea r 2020 which w ill inc lud

m i n ist e r ia l a c t i o n p l a n a n d m e a n s

implementation.



sources


23/36

g

What were the forces that brought

about the government decision

on preparation of a sustainable

development strategy for Israel?

Of co urse the m ajor ca talyst wa s

the Johanne sburg World Summ it

on Sustainable Develop ment, w hich create d

the awa reness and w illingness to p ut sustainab le

d e v e l o p m e n t o n t h e a g e n d a o f e v e rygo vernment ministry.

Yet t he M inistry of the Environme nt c a refully

laid the groundw ork for this dec ision in previous

yea rs. I believe that sustainab le development

presents a positive a pp roach to the environment

as opposed to the trad itiona l form of top-down

regulatory ac tion which ma y be perceived as

a c onstraint by go vernment m inistries.

What is being done to implement the governmentdecision?

An inte rministerial co mm ittee wa s established

to p romote the p rocess of d rafting sustainable

development strategies within the different

ministr ies. In a d d it ion, the Ministry of the

Environment has placed an external consultant

at the disposal of four ministries in order to move

the agenda forward a nd has organized seminars

with the top ma nag ement o f several ministries.

Each ministry is currently ma pp ing and identifying

its sustainab le development p rac tices acc ording

to a standa rd format and ac cording to 16

principles of sustainable development which

we re co nsol ida ted by the Minist ry of the

Environm ent. The idea is to identify those existing

ac tivities that promote sustainable development,

VALERIE BRACHYA ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

those that contradict it and missing

or neglected areas. In addition,

ea c h ministry is p romo ting the

sp ec i f ic ta sks out l ined in the

g o v e r n m e n t d e c i si o n f o r

impleme nta tion b y the different m inistries.

When and how do you expect the governmentdecision to make a difference?

I don't expec t a sudde n chang e but rather

envision tha t the p roce ss will de velop through

an incrementa l series of sma ll step s within each

ministry. The result will only be e vide nt o ver a

pe riod of time. The idea is to c reate a n ongoing

proc ess of reo rienta tion to wa rd sustaina ble

de velopme nt within go vernment ag enc ies.

While I do n't expect to see d ram atic c hang esin the short term , hop eful signs are a lrea d y

evide nt. For examp le, just last week (Feb ruary

2004) the Knesset Committee on Interna l Affairs

and the Environment d evoted a spec ial session

to the sustainable development strategy in

which several government ministries, including

Agriculture, Education and Social Affairs,

presente d som e find ings.

The c om mittee intend s to fo llow up o n theserep orts and to p resent the p rop osed plan o f

each ministry to the relevant Knesset Committees

(for exam ple the plan of the Educ ation M inistry

to the Knesset Co mmittee on Educ ation) for

further disc ussion and d evelop ment.

Deputy Direc tor Ge neral for Policy and Planning

The polic y ofthe

Government ofIsrael will be

ba sed onprinciples of

sustainabledevelopment

whichintegrate:a d ynam ic

ec onomy, wiseuse o f natural

resources,p rotec tion of

ecosystemsand provision

of equalopportunities

to a ll


24/36

Environm enta l Sub jec ts Req uiring Imp rove me nts

Environmental


Imp roving the urba n environme nt a ndpreserving op en spa c es

Trea tingmunicipal

andindustrial

waste

Preventingwater

pollutionand

restoringrivers

Catalyzingeconomic


Imp roving theurban

environmentand



hotspots

How c ritica l are environme nta l issues to e lec tion

results? Do vote rs expec t ma yoral ca nd ida tes to

relate to environmental issues? Which issues are

of most importanc e to the electo rate in different

c ities in Israe l?

To he lp respo nd to t hese a nd othe r questions,

the M inistry of the Environm ent com missioned a

survey on e nvironm enta l co nsiderations in loc al

authorities. The survey, cond uc ted in August 2003,

revea led pub lic perceptions on the environment

just in time for the Oc tob er municipa l elections.

The find ings c learly confirm tha t residents of c ities

throughout the co untry attribute high importance

to environmental issues. Following are some ma jorfindings:

On the basis of unaided a wareness, respond

pe rceived the e nvironment as the sec ond m

impo rtant issue tha t a ma yor must a d dr

Welfare a nd soc ial issues took first p lac e w

de v e l opm e n t show e d up i n t h ird p la

c o nst r uc t i on in f ou r t h p l ac e a nd sou

ad ministration in fifth p lac e.

On the basis of aided a wa reness of imp ortissues in which to invest e fforts, ed uc ation t

first plac e a mong the ge neral po pulation a

the environment p lac ed sec ond .

Among the wide variety of subjects that m

up the e nvironm ent, resp ond ents we re m

co nc erned a bo ut u rba n c lean l iness a

developm ent of g reen spa ce s, publ ic pa

and ga rde ns, and to a lesser deg ree, ab

roads, air pollution, garba ge collec tion, rec yc

and city appearance.

The env ironment was shown to b e of ma

impo rtanc e to the Israeli pub lic (80%), botthe national sam ple and in ea ch of the c

assessed.

Considerations InMunicipal Elections

urvey underlines the importanc e

of environme nta l issues on the

municipal agend a

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

80

24 20

10 86 6 5

3 2 2 1 1

totalnotingneedfor

improvement

cleanlin

ess

parks

roads

airpo

llution

garbagecollection

pavements

recycling

cityappeara

nce

playgroundsforchildren

pestcont r

ol

lighting

badodors

sewageinfrastr u

cture

percentofthe

group



sources

9


25/36

g

Residents ofcities

throughout thecountry

a ttribute highimportanc e toenvironmental

issues

In the summer of 2003, you commissioned a

com prehensive survey on e nvironmenta l

considerations in municipal elections. Why did

you do so?

In rec ent yea rs, environm enta l aw areness has

risen significa ntly fo r different reasons: higher

exposure of environmenta l subjec ts in the med ia,

increased environmenta l educa tion in the school

system and grow ing industrial a wa reness of the

nee d fo r env i ronm enta l investments. We

c om missioned the survey to ide nt i f y t he

c onsiderat ions of the Israeli voter on the loc al

level and to ma ke ca ndidates aware of these

considerations. The results showed that social

w e l f a re a n d e d u c a t i o n a r e o f f o r e m o st

i m p o r ta n c e o n t h e l o c a l le v e l , b u t t h a t

environmental considerations are second in

impo rtan ce . I be lieve that if the sam e survey

were taken ten or fifteen yea rs ago, environmenta l

subjec ts wo uld ha ve c ome in far be hind - in

fifth or sixth place.

To what do you a ttribute these changes?

I think there is a clea r correlation b etwe en the

grow ing numbe r of environm enta l stories in theloca l med ia - weekend supp lements and

c om munity rad io and te levision - and voting

pa tterns on th e loc al level. With the increa se

in loc al media c overage o f environmental issues

and the c ontinued growth in the strength a nd

influence of non-governmental organizations,

SHARON ACHDUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

m a y ors c an no l ong e r a f f o rd t o igno re

environme nta l issues. We saw this in ou r most

recent loca l elections. The prop osed ma rina

project , which threatens to impa ct p ubl ic

ac c ess to t he c oa stline, w as a ma jor issue in

Haifa, air pollution was high on the priority list

in Tel Aviv, while e nvironme nta l nuisanc es in

Ram at Hovav we re of prime imp ortanc e in

Beersheba.

Do you expect this trend to influence the national

age nda as well?The Israe li c itizen is mo re a wa re o f his rights

than e ver before. In our recent m unic ipa l

elec tions nea rly every party relate d to the

environme nt in its platform and some pa rties

ran on a n environm enta l tic ket. The results are

c lear. The num be r of "green" counc il memb ers

in loc al authorities has grow n significantly since

the last elections - from five to 40.

I think this trend w ill impac t on nat ional elec tions

as we ll. In to day's Knesset , rep resenta tives of

just a bo ut eve ry political p arty are ide ntifiedwith e nvironm en ta l initiat ives. The Knesset

Internal A ffairs an d Environm ent Com mittee

is more involved in environm enta l sub jects than

ever b efore a nd the Knesset e nvironme ntal

lobb y, which includes some 40 Knesset members,

is the large st lobby in our pa rliame nt.

Spokesperson, Ministry o f the Environme nt

Alexand er RiverPhoto: Eyal Yaffe


26/36


Internationa l Cooperation

What wa s the purpose of your current visit toIsrael and what are your initial impressions of

the country?

I wa s invited to Israel b y the new Minister of

the Environm ent, Prof. Yehud ith Naot and by

the new Direc tor General, Dr. Miriam Haran,

in order to review the Israeli involvem ent in

MAP, to prepa re for the upc oming m eeting

of the C ontrac ting Parties in Cata nia, to push

for the rat if ica t ion of the new Barcelona

Convention and to hea r about some of Israel's

ac hieveme nts in the prevention of ma rine

and river pollution. I too k the o pp ortunity to

visit severa l sites in Israe l inc lud ing the Kishon

River and the Alexander River Project.

Israel is a c ount ry with high density, high leve l

of income, and high infrastructure development.

On the one ha nd , this provid es it with the

financ ial pote ntial to resolve some prob lems,

suc h a s industrial pollution o r river po llution.

On the o ther hand, the remaining na tural

spa c e, e spe c ially in c entral Israel, is und er a

g rea t d ea l o f p ressu re f r om sp raw l ing

urban iza t ion , road s, ma r inas and o ther

development initiatives.How can Israe l address these threa ts to its

natural environment?

The q uestion now is one of susta inab ility. The

issue s tha t Israe l fac es are: Wha t kind o f

development should it implement? Ca n it save

the na tural co astline? Ca n it cop e w ith the

need for controlling energy co nsump tion?

From Luc ien ChabasonMr. Luc ien Chabason served as Coordinator

of the Med iterranean Ac tion Plan from 1994

to 2003. He kindly provide d the follow ing

interview to Israel Environment Bulletin during

his visit to Israe l in lat e O c tober 2003:

Coordinator, Mediterranean Action Plan

Can it imp lement sustainab le energy policy sustainable transport policy? Can it extend

railwa y? Control the g rowth in private c a

wo uld say tha t Israel has to m ove f rom

environmental policy to a sustainable developm

po licy while at the sam e time not forge tting

need fo r a stric t environm enta l po licy.

I know tha t the g overnme nt is now w orkin

a national strategy for sustainable developm

Sustainab le deve lopme nt ca n either be a

serious po licy with conc rete ta rge ts or just a m

of c osme tic d isc ourse, wo rds alone . I have

do ubt that Israel 's sustainab le d evelop mstrateg y will be a serious ma tter be c ause

Ministry of the Environm ent , which is the lea

body in this context, and its staff are very profess

and co mmitted. The b igg est c hallenge wi

to c onvince the p opulation, not just othe r min

- to spe ak to the g eneral pub lic ab out its sty

life, co nsump tion pa tterns, use o f wa ter, ene

Environmental

polic y used todea l with

production, butsustainability

deals more withconsumption


27/36

g

Government Ratifies Kyoto Protocol

The Israeli government rat ified the Kyoto Proto col

to the United Na tions Framework Convention o n

Climate Cha nge in Feb ruary 2004. Althoug h Israel

is c lassified as a d eve lop ing c oun try und er the

Climate Change Convention, the go vernment

has resolved to und ertake a c tivities to red uc e

em issions of g reenhouses ga ses on the basis of

the conclusions of an interministerial committee

on c l ima te c hang e which w as set up for this

purpo se. Ratification of th e Kyoto Protoc ol willallow Israel to be nefit from t he provisions of t he

Clean Developm ent Mechanism a nd to advance

projects which support the principles of sustainable

development.

Israel-Jordan Cooperation in theGulf of Aqaba

Israe l and Jordan ha ve signed an a greement o n

a monitoring and d ata ma nage ment program

in the Gulf of Aqa ba . The ag reem ent, based o n

the exper ienc e ga ined dur ing the rece nt ly

c o m p l e t e d Re d Se a M a r in e Pe a c e Pa r kC o o p e r a t i v e Re se a r c h , M o n i t o r in g a n d

Ma nag eme nt Prog ram , spe cifica lly recog nizes

the importanc e of transbo unda ry coo rdination

and cooperation be tween the na tional monitoring

programs of the two co untries to p romo te the

long te rm sustainab le use a nd c onservation of

the ir sha red m arine resources.

Toward acleaner

environment

in a ir andsea

t ransp or ta t ion , read iness to use p ub l ictransportation. What is needed is the education

of the po pulation as a w hole.

Env i ronm enta l po l i cy used to d ea l w i th

prod uc tion, but sustainability d ea ls more with

co nsump tion. For examp le, the po llution of the

Kishon River ca n b e solved b y seve ral large

c om pa nies or municipa lities, but in order to

promo te sustainable consump tion, sustainable

transport, you have to speak to the entire public.

There a re new players, new ap proac hes.

Sustainable deve lopment requires a c omplete

revolution.

As coordinator of MAP since 1994 can you

describe the main priorities of MAP over the

years?

I have alwa ys co nsidered MAP to be first a nd

foremost a m arine c onvention and w e should

stick to that. Within this co ncep t, I alwa ys ga ve

priority to m arine po llution. We ha ve to reduc e

marine pollution, our cities have to be equipped

with effic ient wastewater trea tment plants, our

rivers have to b e c leane r.

Afte r the Erika and Prestige oil spills, I suggestedto the pa rties that w e g ive m ore priority to the

prevention o f ma ritime ac c idents and oil spills

in the Med iterranea n, that we have a new

prot oc ol, streng the n ou r REMPEC c ent er in

Malta, and a do pt a strateg y for red ucing oil

spills and ma ritime a c c idents.

Thirdly, marine a nd coa sta l biod iversity rem ains

a high-leve l question. We are no t in a position

to address this issue as well as we should, partly

due to the separation in competenc ies between

organizations de aling w ith protec ted area s

and biod iversity and those dealing w ith fisheries.

We should no t separate fish from other protected

an ima l sp ec ies. We ne ed a m ore ho l ist ic

ap proach. Finally, we have to give high p riority

to the protec tion o f the lit toral everywhere.

The pressure o f tourism is so high and the push

for building a nd d evelopm ent for politica l and

Interna tiona l News

Pollution p revention a t the Gulf of EilatPhoto : Ma rine Pollution and Coa sta l Environm ent Division


28/36


Internationa l Cooperation

ec onom ic interest is so high that go vernments

hesitate ab out be ing stricte r ab out c oa stal

prote c tion. Therefore, I am happ y to see that

Israel is now o n trac k to ad op t a law on the

co ast. I hop e it will be a go od law, eff icient

and str ict , in orde r to al low the c ountry to

p reserve som e o f its na tural co asta l sec tions

and to de sign the future de velopme nt of the

c oa st in a m ore environmenta lly-friendly way.

What was the impact of MAP on Israel and onMediterranean countries as a whole?

During my me eting w ith the Directo r General,

Dr. Miriam Haran, she to ld m e tha t MAP wa s

very useful in pushing countries, inc luding Israel,

to strengthe n their nationa l marine p ollution

prevention legislation, espec ially on land -based

source s. I be lieve tha t without the regiona l

protocols, a lot of c ountries wouldn't have ha d

the p olit ic al strength o n a na tional leve l to

ad op t strict rules on sustainab le develop ment

and ma nagem ent of the coa st.

Israel was righ t to give first p riority to p reventionof p ollution, bec ause the situation w ith regard

to m arine po llution wa s grave 15 yea rs ag o.

The M inistry of the Environment b rought abo ut

ma jor improvements in this area and I think that

MAP wa s help ful in this rega rd.

I am convinced that international environmenta l

law is a p ow erful instrument a nd fram ew ork to

push a c ountry to improve its environm enta l

policy. It p rovides the nec essary leg a l ba sis to

push a government forward toward enforcement.

This brings me to the nee d for Israel to ratify theamend ed convent ion and the protocols on

land-b ased sources and dum ping. We nee d

the ra tific at ion of 17 pa rties in order for the

amend ed convention and protocols to enter

into force. As of today, we only have 15. Therefore,

I would say that the credibility of the convention

is partia lly in the hand s of Israe l.

What role did Israel play in the different compon

of MAP?

I am positively imp ressed with Israe l's role w

MA P. Israel ha s b ee n very ac tive in reg io

co op eration in case of ma ritime ac cidents

in eme rgenc y p lans a s we ll a s in the M ED

prog ram . It is now involved in the Strateg ic Ac

Plan to reduc e land -based po llution and w

this c ont ext it has suc c essfully c a lcula te

ba seline b udg et, am ount of p ollutants go in

sea , and c ategories of po llution. I hope the c ouwill ad op t a nationa l ac tion plan to further red

land -ba sed po llution. More rec ently, Israel

be co me involved in the MEDA projec t of

Euro-Med i terranea n Partnership un de r

coordination of the Regional Activity Cente

Spec ially Protec ted Area s in Tunisia. The pro

is bringing tog ether ma nag ers of protec ted a

for the pu rpose o f bui ld ing and ra ising

management ca pa city of marine na ture rese

Do you have a vision for what you would lik

see in Israel a nd in the Mediterranean?

Firstly I would like to see pe ac e a nd c oop era

in the Midd le East. Sec ond ly, with the enlargem

of the European Union to include m ore c oun

I would wa nt MAP to serve as a bridg e in the

of environme ntal p rotec t ion and sustaina

de velopment be tween the north and the

and south. Thirdly, we have to invest muc h add it

effort to reduc e p ollution from u rban indu

areas, even in Europea n c ountries. Finally, t

is the issue o f co astal zone ma nage me nt. I

continue the p resent d irec tion, everything w

built, noth ing will rema in. Dunes, wetla nd s

natural heritag e, the na tural landsca pe s ofMediterranean Sea will disappear. Is this wha

wa nt? I do n't think so. We should establish l

rules, institutions and func tiona l mec hanisms ai

at p rotec t ing the na tural land sca pe s of

Me d iterra nea n littora l. This is a ma jor prio

Everywhere.

Internationalenvironmental

law is apowerful

instrument andframework

to pusha c ountry toimprove its

environmentalpolicy

...From Luc ien Chabason


29/36

g

Newreg ulations onenvironmental

impactassessment are

helping tointroduceenvironmentalconsiderationsin earlier stagesof the p lanningand decision

makingprocesses

Environmenta l Leg islation

Hazardous Substances Regulations (Criteriafor Determining Validity Periods forPoisons Permits), 2003

Reg ulations on ha zardous substanc es, whic h set

c riteria fo r d ete rmining the validity pe riod of

Poison s Perm its, ca me into f orc e in July 2003.

They are intend ed to p romo te eff icienc y and

strengthen enfo rcement o f the p ermit system set

up under the Hazardous Substanc es Law o f 1993.

The regula tions classify pe rmit ho lders into three

risk ca teg ories (A, B and C), which de termine

the length o f time in which a pe rmit will be va lid.

Criteria for g ranting Poisons Permits for d ifferentpe riod s of time - rang ing from o ne to three years

-are b ased on the type a nd q uant i ty of the

hazardous substanc e, ta king into c onsideration

the type of industry or ac tivity and the potential

environmental risk level of the hazardous substance.

Permit ho lders, which a re classified at the highest

risk leve l (leve l A), are issued permits onc e a yea r

and are subjec t to m ore freq uent inspe ctions

and highe r fees.

Planning and Building Regulations(Environmental Impact Assessments), 2003

New regulat ions on env i ronmental impact

a ssessme nt (EIA), whic h rep lac e th e p revious

1982 regulations, ca me into force in Sep tem be r

2003. They a re aimed a t upgrad ing the EIA system

in Israel, helping to introduc e e nvironm enta l

c onsidera tions in ea rlier sta ge s of the p lanningand decision making processes, and incorporating

susta inab le d eve lopme nt p rinc iples in EIAs. The

regulat ions, which we re drafted b y the Ministry

of the Environment in c oope ration with the Ministry

of the Interior, are b ased on the experienc e

gained in Israel and worldwide.

The regulations broad en the possibilities of requiring

EIAs for proposed development in environmenta lly

sensitive a reas, suc h a s c oa sts and riverbanks.

They inc lude , inte r alia, provisions rega rding the

need to review, in some cases, the sensitivity of

the e nvironment in which the plan is prop osedincluding its expo sure to p ollution a nd its level of

de grad ation and risk, and not only the impa c t

of the p rop osed plan on the environme nt. A

possibility to prepare the EIA in stages is also

included to e nab le the review of a lternatives,

such as siting, operational proc ess and tec hnology

in the f i r st sta g e, a nd the a ssessme nt o f

environmenta l impac ts of the p referred alternative

in the sec ond stag e.

The new regulat ions estab lish strict time tables for

the p rep arat ion of guide lines for an EIA and fo r

EIA review a nd a three-year limit on t he va lid ityof the guidelines.

Business Licensing Regulations (SaltConcentrations in Industrial Sewage), 2003

These regu lations, whic h set threshold va lues for

salt c onc entrat ions in industrial sewag e, will come

into effec t in Sep tember 2004. They a im at reduc ing

the salinity of sewa ge in Israel, which c onstitutes

a m ajor prob lem due to the c ountry's need to


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use rec laime d e ffluents for irriga tion p urpo ses.High levels of chloride, sodium and boron in Israel's

se w a g e t h re a t e n t o p o l lu t e t h e so i l a n d

groundwa ter and red uce crop yields.

The reg ulat ions prohibit d ilution a s a solution and

set strict threshold standards for chlorides, sodium,

fluoride s and bo ron before be ing discha rged to

a wastewater trea tment plant a s follows: chlorides

- 430 milligram s/ liter; sod ium - 230 milligram s/ liter;

f luorid es - 6 mill igra ms/ l iter a nd bo ron - 1.5

milligrams/lite r.

The regula tions a llow for imposing m ore o r less

stringent stand ards ba sed on salt c onc entrations

in the wa ter supp ly to the industrial p lant. More

stringent t hreshold s ma y be imposed if there is

reason to be lieve tha t the sa linity of the effluents

discha rged poses a real danger to the environment.

On the o ther hand , easem ents of the stand ards

are p ossible if the p lant d emonstrates that it uses

best a vailab le tec hnology to reduc e pollutant

concentrations in production and waste treatment

proce sses, if the red uc tion demands will interwith or harm p roduc tion, and in other spe

ca ses which a re enumerated in the regulat

Water Regulations (Prevention of WaterPollution) (pH Values of Industrial Sewage2003

The p urpose o f these regulations, sched ule

c om e into effec t in Ma y 2004, is to p rotec t

environment and prevent the po llution of w

sources from the impac ts of c orrosion genera

by industria l sew age . The regulations prohib

industrial p lant from d ischarging sew ag e wh

p H is less tha n 6.0 or highe r tha n 10.0 tosew age system or whose pH is lowe r than 6

higher than 9.0 to a reservoir, with some excep

for spe c ific cases. These include , am ong oth

ca ses in which the pip

the co nnection point of

plant to the sew ag e sys

o r r e se r v o i r i s m a d e

materials resistant to a

be twe en 5.0 and 6.0, c

where the m ix of sewa

discha rged from the p

and flowing in the municsewag e p ipeline is not lo

tha n 6.0 or not high er t

10.0 at the exit point from

plant, and ca ses where

q u a n t i t y o f se w a

discha rged to the munic

sew age syste m is less t

10 cub ic me ters per d a

Environmenta l Leg islation

Newregulationspromise to

improvehazardoussubstances

managementand prevent

waterpollution


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g

Last year113 out

of 116 cases

ended inconvictionsof a ll or pa rt

of thedefendants

Hazardous SubstancesRegulations (Implementation of Provisionsof the Montreal Protocol), 2004

These regulations, promulga ted in Janua ry 2004,

are a imed at implementing the provisions of the

Montreal Protoc ol on Substanc es that Dep lete

the Ozone Layer within the Israeli lega l system .

The reg ulations set restric tions on the p roduc tion,

co nsump tion, import and export of substanc es

that d ep lete or are likely to dep lete the ozone

layer and estab lish me ans of inspe c tion a nd

co ntrol mec hanisms.

Water Regulations (Prevention of WaterPollution) (Usage of Sludge), 2004

These reg ulat ions, prep a red b y the Ministry of

Documents

Israel Environment Bulletin 2004 Vol 27