Air Pollution, Noise Pollution – The Ombudsman on the Negligence of an Environmental Authority and on the Basic Requirements of the Authority's Activities

A complaint has been lodged with the Ombudsman against the environmental authority of a country town about a procedure not meeting the requirements of precaution and prevention as stipulated by the law and about having infringed the right to a healthy environment. Máté Szabó has also raised the problem of pollution that is still within the limits but intolerable for the population.

In his report on his investigations the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has pointed out that the environmental authority did not comply in its proceedings with the principles of precaution and prevention, stipulated by the Act on the General Rules of Environmental Protection. These are basic requirements that should be observed before starting and during any activities affecting the environment. The interests of the protection of the environment should be taken into consideration in the course of economic planning and regulation, and when making decisions in the fields of economic, regional and urban development and planning or taking official action.

In case the environmental authority fails to consistently and adequately enforce environmental regulations, it may lead to the breach of due process, as well as to the infringement of the right to a healthy environment. The Commissioner has also mentioned that the adequate handling of pollution that is still within the limits but intolerable for the people living in the vicinity of a factory is an additional challenge to the environmental authority.

The Commissioner has requested the director of the competent environmental authority to enforce in its proceedings, to a greater extent, the basic principles stipulated by the environmental protection act related to air pollution, noise and vibration, and to do their best to control and sanction, in order to avoid environmental damage, any activities conducted without or deviating from a permit and endangering the environment.

The Hungarian text of the report may be found at: http://www.ajbh.hu