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Chapter 7 - Recommendations

During the past few years, Albania has suffered from the effects of regional destabilization and civil unrest. During the Spring of 1999, the country was issued a new and urgent challenge as hundreds of thousands of refugees escaped the conflict in Kosovo by entering Albania. Albania responded to that challenge with remarkable strength, and accepted a great burden on its already weak environmental infrastructure. Nevertheless, the impacts of the Kosovo conflict appear to have been relatively modest when compared with other, more severe environmental challenges in the country.

After decades of environmental neglect, economic factors have slowed Albania's industrial sector. As a result, less smoke, less effluent, and less solid waste is flowing from the nation's factories and mines. In the wake of years of industrial activity, however, remain a number of severely contaminated sites that are threatening human health and the environment. UNEP has identified five such 'hot spot' sites. Some of these plants are closed, others remain operational and important to Albania's economy. All require urgent attention. While several of the other sites investigated by the mission may not be emergency situations, they do pose very serious environmental management problems. These sites, too, require swift attention in order to prevent further risks to human health and the environment.

In general, UNEP recommends a two-track approach to addressing industrial contamination in Albania. First. risk reduction strategies should be quickly developed and implemented to remediate the problems identified in the 'hot spot' sites. Similar, if less urgent, strategies will be needed for the other industrial sites discussed. Second, the pressing need to clean up Albania's polluted industrial facilities calls attention to a host of the country's more structural environmental management issues. Hazardous waste management. Solid waste disposal. Wastewater treatment. Soil and groundwater protection. Monitoring. Enforcement. Today in Albania, all of these issues, and others. require strong leadership and sustained investments that will support the efforts of the country's dedicated environmental experts.

Albania must lead the way by demonstrating a strong commitment to protecting and improving its environment. In this connection, Albania can benefit by working closely with neighboring states. In turn, the international community should be prepared to support Albania's efforts in the interest of protecting human health and promoting a strong and prosperous regional environment.

Below are recommendations for specific action based on the findings detailed above.

Hot Spots

1. Chemical plant - Durrës

a) Commence a coordinated emergency response effort under the direction of the NEA that:

• Strictly prohibits access to the plant, the dumpsite, and the chemical storage facilities.
• o Immediately resettles all citizens living in or near the plant and the dumpsite into adequate housing and provides health monitoring.
• Immediately and safely stores the chemicals at a secure site until adequate transport and treatment can be arranged. Strict precautions should be taken to protect workers involved in the chemical transfer process.
• Conducts a comprehensive study of soil and water contamination in the plant, dumpsite and storage areas and recommends short and long-term remediation measures for each area.
• Establishes monitoring wells and a monitoring program encompassing the three sites, as well as the upper groundwater aquifer draining to the sea.
• Reconstructs or, at minimum, repaves local roadways built with contaminated materials from the plant.

2. Chloralkali and PVC Factory - Vlorë

a) Commence a coordinated emergency response effort under direction of the NEA that:

• Strictly prohibits access to the plant.
• Immediately resettles all citizens living in or near the plant into adequate housing and provides health monitoring.
• o In the very short term, bonds the mercury residues at the chlorine-alkali electrolysis plant.
• Conducts a comprehensive study of soil and groundwater contamination in the plant, and recommends short and long-term remediation measures for each area.
• Establishes monitoring wells and a monitoring program encompassing the upper groundwater aquifer draining to the Bay.

3. Marize Oil Field - Patos

a) In the short term: o close wells in a section of the oil field near the village; o begin soil remediation immediately; and o maintain production levels, if possible, by increasing production from oil wells near the pre-treatment facilities.

b) Accelerate plans to reconstruct the field, including re-injection back into the wells of wastewater and certain fractions from the pretreatment of the crude oil.

c) Ensure that pretreatment facilities have a proper oil separator for recirculation of the crude oil.

d) To protect air quality, upgrade and tighten the wells and pipelines, and cover storage tanks.

e) Establish monitoring wells and monitor waters and private water wells downstream of the oil field.

f) Consider management incentives or other methods of encouraging the minimization of crude oil losses during production.

4. Oil Refinery - Ballsh

a) Immediately identify and repair leaks of crude oil and oil components in the oil refinery compound and from the production system.

b) Rebuild the wastewater treatment plant to match the actual volume and composition of wastewater generated.

c) Establish monitoring wells along the riverbank downstream from the refinery; investigate river waters and private well water quality.

d) Monitor air quality around the site, and install emission control technologies.

e) Consider management incentives or other methods of encouraging the minimization of oil losses during production.

5. Waste Disposal Site - Sharra

a) Strictly prohibit citizen and animal access to the dumpsite.

b) Develop a management system for the landfill, including strategies for halt- ing the burning of waste, identifying types of waste, and limiting the contamination of soil and groundwater. Establish monitoring wells and screen them at different levels. Establish a monitoring program that includes surface water and groundwater downriver from the dump. Monitoring should include microbiological and organic compound parameters.

d) Local authorities should relocate waste at the Pezd-Helmds landfill from the outer five meters of the landfill (nearest the river) to a site on the inner part Of the landfill. To reduce contaminant leaching and prevent contact with river waters, replace the removed waste with clay material.

e) Local authorities should investigate water quality downriver of the Pezë Helmës dumpsite, in private wells supplied by the river, and waters treated at the Pezë e Vogël plant. Sample for microbiological and organic compounds.

Other Industrial Sites

6. Nitrate Fertilizer Plant - Fier

a) Accelerate plans to remove the arsenate and arsenite solution from the plant and remediate the surrounding area.

b) In the very short-term:

• Determine the scope of arsenic contamination of the soil and remove the contaminated soil in order to prevent groundwater contamination.
• Reline the concrete basin to prevent further leakage to the surrounding environment.
• Investigate soil and surface water near the storage site.
• Local experts have developed a plan to reduce the volume of solution needing remediation. Fully explore the feasibility of this plan.

c) Examine the influence of untreated wastewater from the plant on receiving waters.

7. Metallurgical Complex - Elbasan

a) Investigate the quality of surface water and drinking water in private wells located downstream from the hydro-tailing dam as well as the plant's wastewater effluent. b) Monitor soil and groundwater near the hydro-tailing dam and surface water in the river system.

c) Use fuels with lower sulfur content, and monitor air quality in the area, especially for particles. Install air pollution control technologies to reduce emissions and require the installation of such technologies prior to future reactivation of the complex's air polluting processes.

8. Copper Factory - Rubik

a) As a short-term means of preventing groundwater contamination, cover the residue with lime or limestone.

b) To clarify the potential risks to human health in the area, investigate private well water quality downstream of the factory.

c) Establish monitoring wells between the factory and the river, and monitor river waters and private well water.

d) To eliminate contamination potential altogether, move the residue back into the mine.

9. Phosphate Fertilizer Factory - Lac

a) As a short-term means of preventing groundwater contamination, consider covering the residue with lime or limestone.

b) To clarify the potential risks to human health in the area, investigate private well water quality downstream of the factory.

c) Establish monitoring wells between the factory and the river, and monitor river waters.

d) To eliminate contamination potential altogether, move the residue to a secure storage site, e.g., a mine.

Managing the Environmental Consequences of the Refugee Crisis

10. The shortcomings of the EMG underscore the need to establish a single coordination body at the outset of a refugee crisis. Government-based coordinating bodies must have precise legal mandates covering all activities-from the delivery of humanitarian aid, to camp site selection, management and rehabilitation-as well as the full support of UN agencies, inter-governmental organizations, and NG0s. The experience and expertise of UNHCR should be used as much as possible during refugee operations.

11. 'Life cycle assessment' should be used as a planning tool during refugee crises. This approach requires consideration of a site's future use during the site selection process and in subsequent management decisions. The goal is to ensure that the technologies used on site will facilitate redevelopment and minimize rehabilitation costs. Redeveloping sites with significant benefit to local communities should be a priority.

12. UNHCR has developed environmental guidelines and policies to minimize the environmental impacts of refugees. These documents, however, were not distributed in a timely or comprehensive manner to some relevant agencies and camp managers. Improved efforts should therefore be taken by UNHCR to distribute these materials at the outset of refugee operations.

13. Rehabilitation efforts were supported by the UNHCR Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) program for refugee- affected areas, as well as numerous other agencies and donors. Despite these efforts, the majority of refugee- affected agricultural lands weretot rehabilitated. Funding of future rehabilitation projects should be justified against the overall environmental management needs and priorities of the country. Any future rehabilitation work should involve the National Environment Agency and relevant municipal authorities.

14. At the outset of any humanitarian emergency, environmental technology, including GIS inventory and other 'state of the art' data, should be used to identify environmentally sensitive areas in the country. This would make possible the selection of sites with low environmental impacts and high redevelopment potential. It would also enable the use of technologies to minimize environmental impacts on sensitive areas selected. UNEP's Environmental Information Services, UNHCR and other international agencies could assist in this process. The camp site selection process should also consider guidance from competent national environmental agencies, as well as from non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, and municipalities.

15. In order to minimize the production of solid wastes, aid and donor agencies should adopt policies requiring that the food products and durable goods they procure use minimal or biodegradable packaging. Buying in bulk and distributing food via reusable containers is recommended. Preference should be given to goods that are produced` in a sustainable way and that can be used locally following the repatriation of the refugees.

16. In order to minimize the potential for contamination by wastewaters, metal tanks should be used as the default method for wastewater management. Soak-away pits may be considered if, according to specialized assessment, unique environmental conditions and topography would prevent seepage into groundwater channels.

17. In order to assess the site-specific environmental impacts of refugee camps, standardized photographs should be taken from permanently marked camera locations both before, during and after refugee occupation. This technique, known as Photopoint Monitoring, would help to document site conditions throughout refugee operations and minimize the potential for false claims of damage.

18. Site-specific recommendations:

a) Spitalle Camp Site, Durrës: Situated on a former wetland, the area has been cleaned, but natural regeneration has been hampered by the soil's high salt content and, possibly, by heavy metal contamination from the nearby former chemical factory (see Chapter 3). o Rehabilitation of the site needs to be considered in the context of the wider environmental strategy for the area. (See recommendations above re Chemical plant, Durrës.) o A pilot project to establish a forest on the site would provide information about vegetative stabilization of the area and help remediation if soil contamination and salinity levels are found to be excessively high.

b) Harmmalaj 3 (Spanish Camp Site), Durrës: Although this site has been cleaned, latrine pits and water supply channels are unfilled, and extensive gravel areas remain. Rehabilitation was hampered by land ownership disputes. Any rehabilitation funds that are made available to this site should be redirected towards addressing local environmental priorities.

c) Rrushkull 1 Camp Site, Durrës: The site has been cleaned and vegetation is regenerating, but two concrete buildings and multiple concrete tent pads remain. The NEA recommends that the site be restored to a nature reserve for migratory birds. This proposal requires funds for a feasibility assessment and implementation. An alternative proposal is to develop the site into Department of Forestry facilities for scientific research. At a minimum, the concrete structures on site should be removed.

d) Austrian Camp/Airfield Camp, Shkodër: Gravel roads, concrete septic pits, unfilled drainage channels, and garbage from refugee occupation remain on site. o Funds should be directed toward clearing an unofficial riverside dumpsite that developed near downtown Shkodër during the crisis. o The municipality of Shkodër and private investors should investigate the potential of re-opening the airport at the former camp site.

e) Islamic Relief Camp Site, Shkodër: Wastewaters from this camp flowed into an open drainage channel that discharged into Shkodër Lake. The Lake has high levels of biological diversity and provides critical habitat for a variety of waterfowl. No additional rehabilitation is required; private construction work has been initiated.

f) Hope Camp, Fier: Located on lands prone to flooding. Infrastructure was removed and basic cleanup performed, but gravel-filled drainage channels, gravel roads, concrete-encased latrines and slabs remain. Topsoil removed from drainage ditches and latrine pits was piled into two large mounds o Any rehabilitation funds that are made available to this site should be redirected towards addressing local environmental priorities.

g) Olympic Collective Center: The camp houses up to 150 refugees in prefabricated accommodations and relies on a soak-away septic field to manage wastewaters. The field is unlined, and the potential for groundwater contamination is unknown. o The local health authority should conduct a preliminary assessment to detect possible contamination from the septic field. o When refugee operations have finished, the area could be developed into recreation and sport facilities.

h) Tirana City Park and Lake: The park and lake represent a valuable recreation area for local citizens. The lack of solid waste infrastructure has led to the creation of numerous illegal dumpsites in the park and along the lakeshore. Refugees exacerbated the problem and also harvested wood illegally. o An environmental management plan should be developed for the park and lake area. Citizens should be educated in pollution prevention practices. Deforested areas should be replanted. Park management strategies should be adapted from successful models elsewhere.

Institutional capacities for environmental management

19. State responsibilities

a) Discussions have occurred within Albania concerning the creation of a Ministry of Environment. This is an important national priority. If environmental progress is to be achieved, strong leadership needs to be provided by a nationally prominent and adequately financed Government environmental institution. To establish clear responsibility for environmental policies, environmental authority should be concentrated in the Ministry to the extent practicable. A Ministry could coordinate Government environmental policies and strengthen environmental management, enforcement and awareness in Albania.

b) The process of implementing and updating the NEAP should be broadly supported.

c) Training is needed to ensure an adequate supply of professional environmental staff at the NEA and in other Government institutions with environmental responsibilities.

d) Efforts to create an Eco-Fund should be pursued. Without the necessary resources, environmental management goals cannot be fulfilled.

e) Implementation of a national physical plan and appropriate regulations is urgently needed to control urbanization and illegal construction, which is having devastating effects on the country's energy and environmental infrastructure and landscape.

20. Environmental Awareness

a) The NEAs efforts to develop an information unit deserve continued support. The unit should organize media briefings; public events; informational materials; community outreach programs; linkages with other government entities, schools and universities; and other environmental education initiatives.

b) Ongoing efforts to develop environmental impact assessment requirements should incorporate public participation and outreach mechanisms.

c) Efforts should be made to develop a more independent and activist NGO network. Opportunities for direct citizen involvement in environmental issues increase public awareness and commitment to environmental protection.

21. Management Instruments

a) Enforcement procedures should be simplified and enforcement actions increased.

b) To build awareness and respect for the law, enforcement actions should be publicized.

c) The environmental inspectorate should be strengthened by providing resources (e.g., cars for regional inspectors) and better access to information.

d) Greater cooperation should be developed with other inspectorates by sharing information and conducting periodic joint actions.

e) Environmental management cannot succeed without timely and accurate data. Duplication of effort diverts resources from greatly needed monitoring efforts. To the extent possible, monitoring responsibilities should be consolidated and coordinated. Similarly, monitoring methodologies should be harmonized to the extent practicable.

22. Local Authority and Privatization

a) Current efforts to strengthen local autonomy should ensure that a sufficient revenue base is available for expanded municipal environmental responsibilities in such areas as solid waste, water supply, wastewater, monitoring, green areas, and the proper investigation and remediation of costly industrial clean-ups.

b) A national registry of priority clean-up sites might help focus donor attention to 'worst case' sites in need of clean-up or other environmental management measures.

c) Privatization efforts would be aided by a clear assignment of legal liability for clean-up activities at contaminated industrial sites.

23. Waste

a) The National Waste Management Plan should be updated and supported by a new law on solid waste management that clearly delineates municipal waste management responsibilities. b) Plans to create national landfills should be accelerated, and recycling efforts should be greatly expanded.

c) Public awareness efforts are needed to discourage littering and illegal waste dumping and burning, and to promote community clean-up efforts.

d) A national industrial and hazardous waste management strategy is urgently needed, as is relevant legislation and industrial waste management infrastructure.

e) The importation of obsolete pesticides and fertilizers should be prohibited.

24. Water

a) The National Water Strategy should be adopted and the 1996 Law on Water Resources implemented without delay.

b) Cooperation and coordination between the NEA and the National Water Council should be strengthened.

c) The national water resources plan should be developed with the participation of key governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.

d) Urban water supply infrastructure needs urgent attention and resources.

e) Draft soil protection legislation should be adopted swiftly, and the development of a soil conservation strategy should be supported.

25. Air

a) Draft laws on air and emission standards should be adopted without delay.

b) A national database of air emissions should be established and regularly updated.

c) A nationwide air quality monitoring network should be created to ensure sufficient knowledge of ambient air quality, especially in urban areas.

d) Mobile emission standards should be established, and a strategy should be developed to manage traffic, reduce traffic-borne emissions and address issues such as the phase-out of leaded gasoline, reductions in diesel consumption,and the use of catalytic converters.

26. Chemicals

a) A national strategy and appropriate legislation is needed to regulate the importation, storage, and handling of chemicals, especially hazardous chemicals ozone-depleting chemicals, agricultural pesticides and biocides.

27. Biodiversity

a) The Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan should be fully articulated, in a detailed action plan, and implemented. Priority should be given to expanding the number of protected areas and strengthening nature and forest management.

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