Israel Environment Bulletin 2004 Vol 27
Transcript of 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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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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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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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Trea ting m unicipa l and ind ustria l waste
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spa ces
Trea ting life-threatening
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
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
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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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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Preventing w ate r po llution a nd restoring rivers
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Reduc ing airpollution
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spac es
Trea ting life-threatening
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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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Preventing w ate r po llution a nd restoring rivers
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spa ces
Trea ting life-threatening
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
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
tons/year
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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 )
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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Red uc ing air pollution from transp ortationa nd industria l sourc es
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spac es
Trea ting life-threatening
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
Reducing airpollution
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
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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
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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
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spa ces
Trea ting life-threatening
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
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
no.
ofexce
ed
a
nces
no.
ofexceed
a
nces
a
nnua
la
vera
ge
(p
p
b
)
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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)
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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Trea ting life-threatening hotspots
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spac es
Trea ting life-threatening
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
Reduc ing airpollution
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
Microfiltration a t the Ram at Hovav plant.Photo: Environmental Services Company
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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
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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
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spa ces
Trea ting life-threatening
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
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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.
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Government Approves
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Cata lyzing ec onomic g rowth a ndna tiona l interests
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spac es
Trea ting life-threatening
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.
Reducing airpollution
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
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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
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Environm enta l Sub jec ts Req uiring Imp rove me nts
Environmental
ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
Imp roving the urba n environme nt a ndpreserving op en spa c es
Trea tingmunicipal
andindustrial
waste
Preventingwater
pollutionand
restoringrivers
Catalyzingeconomic
growth andnationalinterests
Imp roving theurban
environmentand
preservingopen spac es
Trea ting life-threatening
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
Reduc ing airpollution
fromtransportationand industrial
sources
9
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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
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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
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
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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
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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
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
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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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ISRAEL ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN. vol 27
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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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