1. General objective of the Programme: Prevent injury and adverse environmental effects caused by chemicals and hazardous waste and, at the same time, contribution to the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation between Romania and the Donor States.
2. Specific objective of the Programme: The Programme focuses on strengthening the capacity to implement and enforce the EU legislation on chemicals and hazardous waste and on improving the monitoring of hazardous substances in the environment. This will contribute to a better understanding and to the compliance with the relevant legislation, and the economic operators will continue to work in a safe environment.
3. Programme budget:  € 10,000,000
4. Donor Programme Partner: Norwegian Environment Agency
5. Expected outcome: The programme supports project that will deliver results related to:

   • Improved capacity to enforce and implement the EU legislation related to hazardous chemical waste by 7 public entities;

   • Improved knowledge and capacity of more than 160 experts and professionals in hazardous substances, by means of professional training;

   • Improved monitoring of hazardous substances in surface and underground waters. The current reference level of the surface and underground waters national monitoring network according to the legislation in force includes 88 hazardous substances / priority for surface waters and 67 hazardous substances / priority for underground waters.

6. Calls for proposals:

1. 1. Call for proposals 1 – Support instruments for decision making – about 14 proposals
   2. Call for proposals 2 – Training and awareness campaigns – about 6 proposals
   3. For the bilateral fund we estimate number of about 20 proposals to be submitted

    2. Description of the predefined project:

    Pre-defined project: Towards a proper aquatic environment.

    Project Promoter: National Administration "Romanian Waters" (ANAR).

    Project Partners: Norwegian Environment Agency.

    Estimated total project cost: € 2,341,039

The objective of the project is to increase knowledge and awareness of the policies in the water sector by extending the monitoring of the surface and underground waters. This is based on new requirements in the Frame-Directive of the EU on water and in the EU directives concerning the chemical assessment, analysis and monitoring of the surface and underground waters.

The project will deliver results for the achievement of the programme objective: "better monitoring of the hazardous substances in the environment", and includes activities such as:

Documentation, including:

i) an assessment of the existing analysis methods,

ii) technical and financial documentation for the required equipment

iii) national monitoring and analysis network both for surface waters and for underground waters.

- Extension of the existing technical capacity by purchasing and/or developing standard methods, electrical equipment and consumables;

- Training of the technical staff;

- National network for monitoring and analysis, in order to establish the representative monitoring sections and drillings to be included in the screening programme:

• Sampling, conservation and transport of the samples,
• Analysis of the samples using specific equipment
• Analysis of the samples in the National Laboratory

- Analysis of the results obtained

• Establishment of the relevance for the priority substances identified both for the surface and for the underground waters
• Analysis of the screening results, in order to design the future monitoring programme.

- Monitoring.

• Establishment of the monitoring network for the extracted substances identified through screening
• Implementation of the surface and underground waters monitoring programme, in line with the EU requirements, including:
• Sampling, conservation and transport of samples,
• Treatment of the samples using specific equipment
• Analysis of the samples in the National Laboratory

Website: http://www.eeagrantsmediu.ro/

Contact person:

Rosana Macau, rosana.macau@mmediu.ro; 0749.248.495;

Rares Bonifate, rares.bonifate@mmediu.ro; 0743.076.896; 021/408.9622