New legislative initiatives to reduce and control industrial pollution in Ukraine
On September 23, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the draft law "On Prevention, Reduction and Control of Industrial Pollution" (hereinafter "the Draft Law").
According to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Draft Law was developed with the purpose to implement the provisions of Directive 2010/75/EU "On Industrial Emissions" (integrated pollution prevention and control) and to comply with the terms of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The Draft Law was developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
The Draft Law provides for several changes and innovations in the legislation of Ukraine, which should apply to all production platforms.
The official final text of the Draft Law has not yet been published, however, considering the previous provisions of the Draft Law, the changes will concern the following:
- Introduction of a mandatory unified environmental permit for large enterprises in the spheres of energy, production and processing of metals, processing, mineral resources, chemical industry and others;
- The unified environmental permit will set out the requirements together for the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, special water use and waste management, as well as the measures necessary to reduce the impact of enterprises on the environment;
- The unified environmental permit will be issued through the appropriate electronic system for issuing integrated permits;
- The responsibility for compliance with the permit conditions will rest with the enterprises themselves. They will have to monitor emissions and report them to the state. In this case, non-compliance with such volumes, or failure to report may serve as grounds for cancellation of the permit, which will lead to the temporary shutdown of the production platform;
- New procedures for control of industrial pollution will be introduced on the territory of Ukraine, which will stimulate enterprises to modernize production and switch to more environmentally friendly production conditions.
Despite useful short novelties that may change the rules of the game for industrial enterprises in general, it is necessary to remember, however, that the Draft Law has yet to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Given its importance and level of innovation for industry, Asters will continue to closely monitor the Draft Law in the Parliament.
For more information, please contact Asters Counsel Anzhelika Livitska
