The Civil Administration is proactively prompting and promoting solutions for solid waste challenges in the West Bank. The Civil Administration is engaging the regional and international communities in the effort to promote two new modern solid waste sites that will serve the Palestinian communities in the region.

Currently, there are three approved, professionally-run solid waste sites in the West Bank: the Zaharat Finjan site – a World Bank financed project serving communities in the North, the Abu-Dis landfill serving communities in the Bethlehem and the Jerusalem periphery and the Tov-lan landfill situated in the Jordan valley.

Growing population means a growing need for waste disposal solutions, which has resulted in the emergence of dozens of small illegal dumpsites in the central and southern parts of the West Bank. These illegal dumpsites lack modern facilities such as re-cycling and often contain hazardous waste (such as medi-cal, toxic or industrial waste), which need to be treated separately in specialized facilities, which are currently un-available in the West Bank. Illegal dumpsites pose serious threats to the environment and to human health through contamination of the mountain aquifer with poisonous leachate and through air pollution.

These illegal sites also often attract waste pickers, many of whom are children who hunt for metals in unsafe and unacceptable conditions.

Progress Report on the Solid Waste Disposal SectorMay 2011

The Civil Administration International Organizations Branch

Projects Department

From the Desk of Lt. Col. Avi Shalev, Head of the International Organizations Branch

Palestinian children rummaging garbage at Yatta Dump Site (Hebron District).

Solid Waste Sector Responses

Project District Location StatusEl-Minya Solid Waste Site

Bethlehem Area C Master Plan Approved by the Civil Administration in March 2011.

Ramun Solid Waste Site

Ramallah Area C KFW and the Ramallah Joint Services Council expected to submit master plan for approval in June 2011.

Zahrat Al-Finjan Solid Waste Site

Jenin Area B/C Promoted by the World Bank. Successfully operated since 2008. Chosen by the World Bank as the most successful infrastrucure project in the region 2000-2009.

An illegal dumpsite in the Jenin District prior to rehabilitation. 2005.

To treat these issues, the Civil Administration is actively engaged in the promotion of two large new sites with all the modern facilities in the south and central parts of the West Bank.

Southern West Bank – El Minya Site. The Civil Administration changes course to com-bine forces with World Bank and Palestinian lo-cal authorities. The Southern West Bank Solid waste site (El Minya) was first proposed to the Civil Admin-istration by the World Bank in 2007, in response to the growing needs of the Bethlehem and Hebron districts. At the time, the Civil Administration was engaged in an effort to promote a small solid waste site in the Tarku-miya locale (Area C) and was already at the stage of ten-dering the project for design. Upon analysis, the World Bank’s vision for a large-scale site that would serve the entire Southern West Bank region was found to be more beneficial and efficient, so the Civil Administration halted its original plan in order to fully commit to the World Bank proposal.

Procedural Steps towards the completion of the El-Minya project

✓ February 2008: The World Bank team and the He-bron and Bethlehem Joint Services Council together submit a feasibility study to the Civil Administration in order to determine the best location for the site. ✓ The Civil Administration examines fifteen potential sites as options.✓ November 2008: The World Bank recommended

The Civil Administration International Organizations Branch

Projects Department

Approved master plan for the al-Minya solid waste disposal site in the Bethlehem district. Features of this waste management facility in-clude daily capping with soil, a ground water monitoring well, gas and leachate collection systems, and compost and recycling centers.

Installation of the sanitary HDPE lining at Zahrat al Finjan. Jenin District.

The approved location of the El-Minya Solid Waste Site. Bethlehem District.

The Civil Administration International Organizations Branch

Projects Department

site is approved by Civil Administration which commits to expediting the statutory procedures for a building permit. ✓ November 2009: A Master Plan for the Southern solid waste site (El Minya) is submitted to the Civil Admin-istration Sub-Committee for Environmental Affairs for approval. ✓ May 22, 2010: A notice is published in the Palestinian and Israeli press. ✓ Special hearings take place to discuss 15 separate public objections (see diagram below).✓ January 2011: The plans are approved by the Civil Administration Sub-Committee for Environmental Af-fairs. ✓ March 2011: The approved master plan for the El-Minya Solid Waste Site receives full statutory standing. ✓ May-June 2011: Expected timeframe for the issuance of building permits for the site and for the access road. ✓ June 2011: Ground breaking operations and construction expected to begin.

Site details and facilities:Once built, the El-Minya solid waste site will serve more than 700,000 Palestinian residents in the He-bron and Bethlehem districts. This modern and advanced solid waste facility is fully fenced and includes an on-site administration building, a weighing scale and access con-trol center, a leachate collection pond with a high density polyethylene (HDPE) liner, composting and recycling

centers, gas-collecting facilities, and several groundwater-monitoring wells.

The project also includes the closure and rehabilita-tion of more than 15 illegal dump sites operating in the Hebron and Bethlehem districts including the infamous Yatta Dump Site.

Central West Bank – Ramun SiteThe Ramallah District is in need of a modern solid waste facility. In 1999 the Civil Administration fully ap-proved a master plan for a solid waste site in the Ramal-lah district near the village of Dir-Dubwan. Following the handover of the area to the Palestinian Authority, the plan to develop the site was not promoted further by the Pal-estinians. Nevertheless, in 2003 a similar initiative to pro-mote a solid waste site for the region was promoted by the German Development Bank – KFW a few kilometres East of the previously approved site.

The Civil Administration responded with its ap-proval and support for this new KFW proposed solid waste site in a location close to the village of Ramun (Ramallah District) in 2005.

Like the El Minya Solid Waste Site, the Ramun Site will benefit from all the modern facilities, and will serve the entire Ramallah district. It will enable the closing or reha-bilitation of numerous illegal solid waste sites in the area, of which El-Bireh is particularly infamous for its foul smell and dark smoke.

Civil Administration, World Bank, and Hebron Joint Services Coun-cil representatives discussing the EIA for the El-Minya Landfill. April 2009.

Civil Administration and German Development Bank representa-tives discussing the EIA for the Ramun Landfill. December 2009.

The Civil Administration International Organizations Branch

Projects Department

Procedural Steps towards the completion of the Ramun Project:✓ November 2009: The KFW Development Bank and the Ramallah Joint Services Council together submit a feasibility study and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the Civil Administration for review. ✓ May 2010: EIA are returned with comments from the Civil Administration. ✓ Dialogue has ensued between the promoters of the plan and the staff of the Civil Administration Planning and Envi-ronmental Departments during the second half of 2010 with the purpose of concluding technical matters relating to the planned site and access road. ✓ June 2011: The project is scheduled to be presented to the Civil Administration Sub-Committee for Environmental Affairs. The planned hearing of the Environmental Committee will commence the statutory proceedings necessary to promote a master plan and building permits for the site.

First request for project approval is submitted by the initiator

Civil Administration Staffwork and checks

Conditional approval Request rejected due to incomplete documentation

Submitting plans and surveys to the Sub-Committee for Environmental Affairs

A hearing is held by Sub-Committee for Environmental Affairs to discuss documentation presented

A second public notice is published in the Israeli and Palestinian Press for fifteen days

Masterplan for solid waste site receives statutory standing

Planning deparment commences staffwork on the issuance of a building permit

Building permit issued by the planning department

Procedure for the Approval of a Waste Disposal Site

The initiator receives the version that can be published in the Israeli and Palestinian press for sixty days

A hearing is held by the sub-committee to discuss the public objections to the project

Objections from the public rejected

Plans republished in the press in the case of major changes

A hearing held at the Sub-Committee for Environmental Affairs to present the amended plans

Project plans amended

Objections from the public accepted