Environmental Protection (Inspection and Enforcement Powers) Law, 5771-2011

The purpose of this Law is to protect and preserve an adequate quality of the environment and to improve it and to prevent harm to the environment or to public health, by anchoring and expanding the inspection and enforcement powers of employees of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In this Law –

"vehicle" – including a watercraft and an aircraft;

"environmental protection supervisor" – a supervisor appointed under section 4a;

"environmental protection inspector" – an inspector appointed under section 3 or section 8a;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Environmental Protection.

The Minister may appoint, from among the employees of his Ministry, inspectors who shall be vested with the powers under Chapter III, all or some of them, for the purpose of implementing the provisions under the enactments listed in the First Schedule, all or some of them.

No inspector shall be appointed under the provisions of section 3 unless all of the following conditions are met:

The Minister may appoint, from among the employees of his Ministry, environmental protection supervisors who shall be vested with the powers under section 5, all or some of them, for the purpose of implementing the provisions under the enactments listed in the Second Schedule, all or some of them.

No environmental protection supervisor shall be appointed under the provisions of section 4a unless all of the following conditions are met:

For the purpose of supervising the implementation of the provisions under the enactments listed in the First Schedule or the Second Schedule, an environmental protection inspector or an environmental protection supervisor authorised to supervise the implementation of that enactment may –

Where a suspicion arises that an offence has been committed under an enactment listed in the First Schedule, an environmental protection inspector authorised to supervise the implementation of that enactment may –

Where a person refuses to comply with a demand made by an environmental protection inspector in the exercise of the powers vested in him under this Chapter, and there is a concern that he will flee or that his identity is unknown, the inspector may detain him until the arrival of a police officer, and the provisions of section 75(b) and (c) of the Criminal Procedure Law (Enforcement Powers – Arrests), 5756-1996, shall apply to such detention, with the necessary modifications.

This Chapter is intended to regulate the inspection and enforcement of environmental laws vis-à-vis the security establishment in a manner that balances the preservation and protection of environmental quality with State security and public safety, and that fulfils the purposes of this Law.

In this Chapter –

"security body" – one of the bodies listed in the definition of "security establishment";

"security clearance" – as defined in section 15 of the General Security Service Law, 5762-2002;

"Security Regulation Law" – the Security Regulation in Public Bodies Law, 5758-1998;

"security establishment" – each of the following:

"procedure" – a procedure prescribed under section 19;

"senior officer" – an officer of the rank of lieutenant colonel, superintendent or commander, at least, as the case may be, or a person whose rank is equivalent to such a rank;

"authorised officer" –

"responsible Minister" –

An environmental protection inspector or an environmental protection supervisor shall exercise the powers vested in him under this Law vis-à-vis the security establishment, subject to the qualifications set out in this Chapter.

An environmental protection inspector or an environmental protection supervisor shall not exercise the powers vested in him under Chapter III vis-à-vis the security establishment unless an appropriate security clearance has been determined for him for that purpose and in accordance with the information security rules of a security body; a security body shall bring the said information security rules to the attention of the Director General of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5(1), where an environmental protection inspector or an environmental protection supervisor has required a person to identify himself before him for the purpose of exercising his powers at an installation held by a security body, and the information security rules of the security body prohibit that person from identifying himself except before a person authorised to receive such identification under those rules, that person may refrain from presenting an identifying document and may present himself in the manner to be prescribed in a procedure, in a way that enables the exercise of inspection and enforcement powers vis-à-vis him under this Law to the extent required.

For the purpose of exercising his powers, an environmental protection inspector or an environmental protection supervisor may use various means to document his findings; the introduction of such means or the conditions of their use shall be in accordance with the information security rules of the security body, and in a manner that enables the required documentation.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5(3), measurements and samples that are, or whose results may be, classified shall be carried out and kept in classified laboratories, as shall be determined in a procedure, provided that this shall not prevent the taking of a measurement or the collection of a sample.