GOVERNMENT PROPOSES "SELF-MONITORING" OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Shushan Stepanyan
e-law-about-environement/
2009/06/11 | 13:40
Ecology
Today the Armenian government submitted a package of environmental
reforms and amendments to the RoA National Assembly for review. The
package contains stipulations regarding the problems involving improper
waste disposal by manufacturing companies.
The package seeks to include some 30 companies in a self-monitoring
process that will seek to prevent or at least lessen the amount of
waste material they discharge into the environment.
If the government’s proposal becomes law, a self-monitoring program
must be set up within 18 months and launched within 30 months.
Heritage Party Deputy Styopa Safaryan noted that the bill seemed to
be a verbatim translation of the law of another country, taking into
account the punctuation and grammar involved. He asked what country’s
experience had been studied and whether the term "self monitoring"
meant that we could now fold our hands and forget the matter.
Environmental Minister Aram Harutyunyan responded that a similar law
is on the books in Germany and England.
Heritage Party Deputy Anahit Bakhshyan then asked how the ministry
would monitor the activities of foreign-owned companies like
GeoProMining.
Minister Harutyunyan answered, "This method will let us know whether
the pollution of the environment by such companies is a continuous
issue or not and what has taken place. Armed with such information,
our demands will be that much more concise. As to the companies you
cite, we have uncovered dangerous materials and are following up on
the matter."