The Administrative Court in Kyustendil has finally confirmed the property sanction of 250,000 leva, or 127,822 euros, imposed on the Bobov Dol Thermal Power Plant for operating without functioning treatment facilities. The sanction was issued by a penal decree of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and the court decision is not subject to appeal.
The violation was established during an inspection in May 2025.
The inspection was carried out on May 23, 2025. According to the data in the case, emissions of dusty substances related to coal and biomass stored outdoors were established. The fuels were piled up in a large pile near the power plant's cooling towers.
At the site, known as the “Black Lake“, a temporary road was formed in the cage with an excavator. Dust was generated when the dry mass was shoveled out. The court decision states that the site was very dry and no water cannon was used to wet it.
This is part of the description of what was found during the inspection, cited in the information about the court decision.
A separate case for another sanction has been returned
The confirmed sanction is another one related to the operation of the TPP “Bobov Dol“. The Administrative Court in Kyustendil has returned a separate case for a sanction of 300,000 leva, or about 155,000 euros, due to omissions and insufficient evidence for the alleged violations.
According to information from the Bulgarian National Radio, unofficial estimates are that in recent years the sanctions against the plant have reached about 5 million euros under nearly 120 penal decrees. This summarized estimate is not presented as an officially confirmed amount of all imposed sanctions.
Sources: bnrnews.bg, eurocom.bg