Nature protection is based on a law that has been in force since 1992.
In nature protection the CEI works on the basis of the very progressive Act on the Nature and Landscape Protection, which has been in force since 1992 with minor modifications. Further important competences in area of nature protection were acquired in 2000 with the Act on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and in 2003 with the Act on ZOOs. In 2004, when the Czech Republic joined the European Union, there were partial legislative changes.
The Act on Nature and Landscape Protection was amended and the European network of protected sites, known as NATURA 2000, was legally anchored. In general nature protection, it mainly concerns major landscape features (MLF), landscape care (revitalization), landscape character, general protection of birds and the issue of tree protection. Controls of trees growing outside the forest have recently dominated the number of administrative proceedings and imposition of sanctions. Their protection has become a certain leitmotif of public complaints and initiatives. In species protection, interference with natural development (biotope) and direct destruction of specially protected species of animals and plants in connection with construction activities is a problem.
Forest protection seeks the principles of sustainable forest development
The task of the CEI in area of Forest Protection is to prevent threats and damage to forest ecosystems, especially through the extraction and transport of wood or attacks on the promisingly developing trend in the application of methods of management close to nature in forests leading to more diverse age, spatial and species structures of the forest and to the development of biodiversity. The forest protection inspection detects deficiencies and damage to the functions of the forest, looks for their causes and the persons responsible for their origin or duration. It requires the removal or correction of identified deficiencies, imposes and controls corrective measures. Work in the Forest Protection area is governed by the Act on Forests and the Act on Nature and Landscape Protection.
Air protection also includes climate protection
The Air Protection Unit is involved in the protection of the air itself, the protection of the climate system and the protection of the Earth's ozone layer. It relies on the Air Protection Act, the Regulation of the European Parliament on substances that damage the ozone layer and the Regulation of the European Parliament on fluorinated greenhouse gases. Recently, increased attention has been paid to the control of stationary sources of air pollution (flying dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ozone). The control activity of the Inspectorate is accompanied by analyzes for the purpose of identifying regulated substances and fluorinated greenhouse gases. The control activity of this Unit must be conceived as integrated, i.e. combined air protection, protection of the climate system and protection of the Earth's ozone layer.
The Waste Management Unit handles waste management, end-of-life products and packaging
The Waste Management Unit is responsible for checking compliance with regulations in the field of waste management, end-of-life products and packaging. The legal basis for the activities of this Unit is the Waste Act. In the Czech Republic, the first law on waste was created in 1991. Currently, waste management is regulated by Act No. 541/2020 Coll., on waste, which is effective from January 1, 2021. The Act establishes the rights and obligations of persons in the field of waste management and regulates the obligations of waste generators (citizens, municipalities, cities and companies), the obligations of persons who collect, transport, treat, use and dispose of waste (landfills, waste incinerators, waste collection centers, sorting lines, etc.), obligations of state administration and self-government and, last but not least, regulates sanctions and fees. The Waste Act further enforces the basic principles of circular economy, environmental protection and human health in waste management.
The Act on end-of-life products (EOLP) regulates the take-back of selected products (electrical equipment, batteries or accumulators and tires) and the handling of end-of-life vehicles. The most important EOLP innovation is the mandatory collection and recycling targets for those groups of electrical waste that are hazardous waste, i.e. especially fluorescent lights, televisions and refrigerators. From January 1, 2021, these targets are mandatory for manufacturers and importers of electrical equipment or for collective systems in which they are associated in order to fulfill their obligations. Another very important, impatiently awaited innovation is the obligation of collective systems to inform the state how much electrical equipment a particular manufacturer puts on the market in the Czech Republic. An important change is also the obligation to set the same price for the collection and recycling of the same type of electrical equipment for all manufacturers participating in one specific collective system.
Handling of packaging waste is regulated by the Packaging Act, which applies to entrepreneurial natural and legal persons who place packaging on the market in the Czech Republic - manufacturers of packaging or packaged products (i.e. persons who package the product - manufacturers, fillers, packers); importers of packaging or packaged products from countries outside the EU (both for distribution and for own use); transporters of packaging or packaged products from EU countries (both for distribution and for own use) and put the packaging into circulation in the Czech Republic - distributors of packaging or packaged products (i.e. persons who buy packaged products in the Czech Republic and pass them on, whether for a fee or free of charge). The Packaging Act is one of the more complicated ones in terms of its interpretation and its application in practice in companies.
Inspection Support and Chemical Safety Unit
The Inspection Support and Chemical Safety Unit of the CEI HQ is in charge of chemical safety issues (chemical legislation including regulations on product safety), remote Earth exploration, chemical analyzes and sampling. The Unit has laboratory techniques for chemical analysis of samples (these are mainly samples of waste, soil, products and natural products).
The Unit uses unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to obtain data to support the inspection activities of the CEI during inspections in the field of forest protection, nature protection and waste management.
The Unit’s staff monitors the state and development of science and technology in the field of chemical safety, sampling, chemical analysis, remote Earth exploration and provides expert assistance to inspectors in these areas.
The Unit cooperates with foreign partners. Cooperation within the enforcement forum at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is key.
Water Protection
According to the Water Act, the Water Protection Unit focuses primarily on the control of legal and entrepreneurial natural persons in compliance with legislative regulations when discharging wastewater into surface and underground waters, discharging wastewater containing particularly dangerous harmful substances into public sewers, on the control of construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants and other facilities to neutralize, reduce or eliminate water pollution, protection of surface and underground water from pollution by harmful substances, which occurs mainly when handling these substances on a larger scale, protection of surface and underground water from pollution by harmful substances from agricultural operations and compliance with the principles of dealing with these substances in vulnerable areas. The Inspectorate registers accidental releases of harmful substances, cooperates with water authorities in the investigation of accidents. Considerable powers of the Inspectorate result from the imposition of remedial measures in the area of wastewater discharge and disposal of harmful substances, even from the period before privatization. Another law that the Water Protection Unit is responsible for is the law on the prevention of serious accidents. According to this law, the Inspectorate controls how operators comply with the provisions of this law and organizes and coordinates inspections by other inspection authorities.