A year in review – the activity of the National Environment Guard in 2024
Authors: Mădălina Vasile, Teodora Roman
On January 21, 2025, the National Environment Guard („NEG”) published a press release[1] on the institution’s activity report for 2024.
The press release of NEG included, among other things, a retrospective of its inspection and control activities, the key areas subject to verification, an analysis of trends compared to the previous year, as well as the outlook for 2025.
- Statistics for inspection and control activities
In 2024, the number of inspections conducted was higher than in the previous year, and above the objective set in the inspection plan for the period 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024.
Thus, 35,367 inspections were proposed to be conducted in 2024 (both planned and unplanned).
In fact, there have been 47,566 inspections, more than in 2023, when the authorities conducted 44,434 inspections.
The inspections focused primarily on pollution control, protection of biodiversity, biosecurity and protected natural areas.
- Main areas subject to verification
The main economic operators subject to NEG inspections and controls in 2024 conduct operations related to:
- waste management
- implementation of the Deposit-Return System (DRS)
- potential impact on air quality (industrial facilities – all thermal power plants in Bucharest; construction sites; concrete fabrication facilities).
The inspections targeted, among other things, the compliance with obligations related to waste management and transfer, reduction of air pollution through uncontrolled emissions, prevention of soil and water contamination and protection of biodiversity.
The aims of the inspections included fighting waste trafficking, ensuring the implementation and proper functioning of DRS, and combating air pollution.
- Sanctions applied
Following inspections, in addition to significant contravention fines, the authorities adopted complementary measures involving the cease of operations and the removal of illegal works. Furthermore, the authorities put forward proposals to suspend environment permits/authorizations and filed criminal complaints with the competent authorities.
Though significant, both the number of contravention fines and their total value have been lower in comparison with the previous year.
But the number of measures relating to the cease of operations and of proposals to suspend environment permits/authorizations increased compared to 2023.
You can see the comparative evolution in the table below:
| Sanctions | Year 2024 | Year 2023 |
| Contravention fines | 4,888 fines, total value Lei 129,074,000 | 5,018 fines, total value of Lei 133,079,600 |
| Measures entailing cease of operations | 361 | 287 |
| Orders for removing works | 58 | 65 |
| Proposals to suspend environment permits/authorizations | 48 | 24 |
| Criminal complaints | 210 | 228 |
- Future lines of actions
NEG’s plans for 2025 include implementing operational, legislative and interinstitutional cooperation measures for combating waste trafficking, since Romania’s joining the Schengen Area could facilitate the illegal trade in waste.
Furthermore, a strong focus will be on developing recycling infrastructure and implementing strict standards to prevent illegal waste deposits and reduce the negative impact on the environment.
