VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1809/01 2261107
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141107Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3063
INFO RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEAWJL/DOJ WASHDC
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 2580
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6386
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1703
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001809 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/ENV, EEB/EPPD AND NEA/IPA 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL - METCALF 
USDA FOR FAS/ICD/RSED 
AMMAN FOR ESTH - BHALLA 
PARIS FOR USOECD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG TBIO IS
SUBJECT: GOI SEEKS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ASSISTANCE. 
 
Ref: (A)08 Tel Aviv 1845  (B)08 Tel Aviv 2586 
 
Action request: See para 9. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Post Econ Counselor received a written request 
from GOI Ministry for Environmental Protection (MEP) Director 
General for assistance in upgrading Israel's environmental law 
enforcement capabilities.  New civil law procedures could reinforce 
existing mechanisms which rely chiefly on administrative orders and, 
failing that, cumbersome criminal prosecution.  MEP believes civil 
proceedings would offer a wider array of enforcement tools and 
result in greater compliance with recently upgraded environmental 
protection legislation.  The DG also offered a survey of priority 
MEP issues and challenges facing the new Israeli government. 
Comment: This request comes in the context of Israeli efforts to 
upgrade environmental management to comply with OECD standards for 
membership; post recommends the USG respond to the request favorably 
and quickly.  End Summary. 
 
Looking for New Alternatives 
---------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) Until recently, Israel has pursued environmental protection 
with relatively few laws and few enforcement mechanisms.  Last 
year's spate of new, stronger laws (ref A) made headlines because it 
evidenced the maturing of Israel's numerous, competing environmental 
NGOs into a lobby of groups able to achieve legislative and 
political objectives.  The new legislation includes laws installing 
a Clean Air Act, stronger sanctions on corporate polluters, 
strengthened individual accountability, and a "polluter pays" 
principle.  Enforcement has only been through administrative orders, 
however, which MEP officials concede have resulted in mixed 
compliance.  The alternative has been criminal indictments for 
environmental offenses, which have been pursued infrequently by the 
ministry, and in which courts have been reticent to find criminal 
intent in private sector pollution, much less in the pollution 
caused by public utilities and agencies.  (Some NGOs claim Israel's 
military (IDF) is one of the greatest polluters in the country.) 
The lethargy of the criminal court structure also offered little 
deterrence to industrial polluters. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On July 7, post EconCouns and ESTH officer met with Yossi 
Inbar, the recently confirmed Director General of the MEP for a 
update on the new government's objectives on environmental issues. 
Inbar used the occasion to present a written request from the 
Ministry's legal advisor to the USG for a workshop on how to 
implement civil environmental proceedings as a means of pursuing 
compliance.  This prospective training would clarify issues such as 
determining civil versus criminal pursuit, establishing the burden 
of proof, judicial review, and handling out-of-court settlements, 
among other matters.  Post will fax the paper received to the 
Department. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Embassy officers welcomed the request, pointing out that 
legal seminars on environmental law enforcement have been offered in 
many countries by US officials from EPA, Justice and other agencies, 
and this request would be conveyed to Washington.  When asked about 
timing for this training, Inbar noted Israel's endeavors to upgrade 
its environmental performance closer to that of the countries in the 
OECD, implying the near term (see para 8). 
 
The Objectives for the Government 
--------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Inbar sketched out the plans he and new MEP Minister Gilad 
Erdan have for the coming years.  MEP is one ofthe youngest (20 
years old), smallest (scarcely 500 employees), and least funded 
agencies of the Israeli government.  (Note: Its FY2009 budget is 
only 200 million Israeli Shekels (USD 50 million) and the projection 
for FY2010 is only slightly higher.)  Despite these handicaps, the 
ministry has extensive responsibilities, including environmental law 
enforcement, land and maritime ecology surveillance, supervision of 
hazardous materials at the industrial level, and oversight of all 
national parklands through the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. 
These tasks are now augmented by new legislation that requires more 
enforcement action.  Minister Erdan told the press that implementing 
the new Clean Air Act by 2011 will require 80 million NIS in 
supplemental funding and additional hiring authority. 
 
¶6. (U) Aside from fighting for more funding for enforcement, the 
Ministry plans to tighten regulation on packaging, with the goal of 
recycling 70 percent of domestic use glass and 60 percent of 
 
plastics.  Recycling throughout Israel should be improved, he 
observed, but this will require assisting the local authorities who 
have responsibility for solid waste issues in their communities. 
Inbar complimented the U.S. private sector for responding to the 
needs of American municipalities, and asked whether US companies 
(e.g. BFI, Waste Management, etc.) would be interested in working in 
Israel. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Inbar noted that MEP is also the chief interlocutor for the 
GOI on Climate Change, and is responsible for issuing air quality 
permits.  MEP has inventoried 150 point sources of emissions, and 
Inbar said Israel is preparing for CO2 emissions limits following 
IPCC recommendations.  (Note: Although a signatory of the Kyoto 
Protocol, Israel has had no emissions reduction target because it is 
listed as a Schedule II country. End note.)  Public education will 
be key, he noted, in coping with the costs and constraints this may 
create. 
 
¶8. (SBU) One clear objective Inbar noted was to prepare Israel for 
OECD membership.  Inbar said that one of Israel's weakest points in 
its OECD accession discussions has been at the Environmental Policy 
Committee.  After two visits to Israel by an EPC team earlier this 
year, he anticipates an October EPC meeting in Paris will help 
settle some issues. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Action request: Post understands the MEP request for legal 
advising to be part of Israel's efforts to improve its environmental 
law enforcement as part of its OECD accession criteria.  In this 
light, we believe assistance in the near term (coming Autumn/Winter) 
would be most helpful to the GOI.  The GOI request also builds on 
the intent expressed during the visit to Israel of then-EPA 
Administrator Stephen Johnson last October, when both countries said 
they hope to deepen cooperation on environmental issues (Ref B). 
Post recommends the Department, in coordination with EPA and 
Justice, respond favorably to this request for legal training. 
 
MORENO