Romania's National Environmental Guard, Bacău county inspectorate, fined Slănic Moldova town hall 40,000 lei after trees were cut on a public green space. This is an administrative fine, not a criminal sentence. The town hall can challenge it. How many trees, on which street, the Guard did not publish in its notice.

The inspection started from a complaint. Officers found traces of recent work. Papers shown by the local authority lacked the permit required by Law 24/2007 on urban green space and had no justification for the cutting. That is why the fine.

Besides the money, the Guard banned cutting or pruning on public green spaces without the law being followed. Checks, it said, continue in the county. Radio Romania Bacău and Ziarul de Bacău match the same notice. G4Media takes Rador / Radio Iași.

An environmental fine is not a conviction for a forestry crime. It is not an admission of guilt either, until a possible challenge. "Clear-cut" in some headlines is urban tree felling, not a hectare of forest.

Law 24/2007 requires a permit before work. Without it, cutting on public land is a contravention. The 40,000 lei figure is the one announced by the Bacău Guard, not a court ruling.

Slănic Moldova is a spa town with a park. A complaint-led inspection ended in a fine and a pruning ban. Until a challenge, that is the administrative file, not a criminal trial.

Image: Novichok, park in Slanic Moldova, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; the park, not the exact cutting site.

Sources consulted: 40,000 lei fine for Slanic Moldova town hall after cutting a green space - G4Media; 40,000 lei Environment Guard fine for illegal tree cutting on public land - Radio Romania Bacau.