The City of Jerusalem will soon begin sending out inspectors to enforce the new Environmental Enforcement Law, a group of 14 national laws dedicated to protecting the environment, according to the Municipality Engineering Administration.
The Environmental Enforcement Law includes measures that deal with cleanliness, public nuisances, public health, hazardous substances, waste recycling, animal welfare and clean air, among others.
Specially-trained inspectors are authorized under the new law to enter places and conduct investigations, confiscate items, demand identification and documents, request and carry out court-issued search warrants, and detain offenders until a police officer arrives.
Some 40 city inspectors have been trained as environmental enforcers, according to Ariella Smilanski, spokesperson for the department.
Under city bylaws, environmental offenders up to now have only been subject to a maximum NIS 3,600 ($1,000) fine if an indictment was issued. However, under the new Environmental Enforcement Law, maximum fines are exponentially higher – reaching into the hundreds of thousands of shekels for offenses such as disposal of construction waste in public areas by a corporation. Moreover, corporate environmental offenders can be sentenced to jail time.
“The goal is to improve the environment for the benefit of Jerusalem residents by granting inspectors expanded authorities similar to those of police officers and by increasing the severity of punishments (prison terms and high fines) applied to environmental offenders,” Smilanski said.