Integrated environmental permitting and control of industrial pollution: Parliament plans to consider another European integration bill in the second reading

At one of its upcoming meetings, the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider in the second reading the European integration draft law "On Ensuring the Constitutional Rights of Citizens to a Safe Environment for Life and Health" (6004-d). The document defines the basic requirements for an integrated environmental permit and is also intended, as stated in the explanatory note, to introduce a legal framework for industrial pollution control, UNN reports.

Details

As stated in the explanatory note, the purpose of the draft law is to establish the legal and organizational framework for the prevention, reduction and control of industrial pollution to ensure the protection of the environment and the constitutional rights of citizens to a safe environment for life and health by introducing an integrated environmental permit, defining the types of activities that require such a permit, requirements for the mandatory use of the best available technologies and methods of management, monitoring of emissions and control of compliance with the conditions of the integrated environmental permit.

The Draft Law defines the main requirements for an integrated environmental permit, the list of activities that require an integrated environmental permit, the procedure for issuing an integrated environmental permit, the grounds for refusal to issue an integrated environmental permit, grounds and procedure for revoking an integrated environmental permit, grounds and procedure for amending an integrated environmental permit, requirements for the register of integrated environmental permits, peculiarities of emission monitoring and control of business entities that have received an integrated environmental permit.

Thus, the draft law introduces integrated approaches to permitting and control of industrial pollution based on the application of the best available technologies and management methods in accordance with Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions.

The explanatory note states that the full implementation of Directive 2010/75/EU will require the adoption of further technical regulations aimed at transposing the technical requirements and annexes thereto regulating the activities of incinerators, waste incineration plants, co-combustion plants, plants and activities in which organic solvents are used, and plants producing titanium dioxide, as provided for in the final provisions of the draft law.

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In addition, the draft law stipulates that the fee for obtaining an integrated environmental permit shall be 15 minimum wages.

The projected number of business entities to which this rule will apply is about 3,500.

Part four of Article 26 of the Draft Law stipulates that the procedure for maintaining the unified state electronic information system of integrated environmental permits shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The financial and economic justification for the creation of the unified state electronic information system of integrated environmental permits will be prepared in the course of development of the relevant draft governmental act.

Forecast of socio-economic, legal and other consequences of the adoption of the draft law

As stated in the explanatory note, the implementation of the law:

will help to improve the state of the environment, ensure environmental safety and maintain ecological balance in Ukraine, and thus ensure the rights of citizens to a safe environment for life and health;

will have a positive impact on the market environment, protection of the rights and interests of business entities, citizens and the state, regional development, public health and the environment.

This is, in particular, due to the establishment of clear procedures and transparent relations for business entities, government agencies and the public in the field of issuing an integrated environmental permit and implementing the best available technologies and management methods; implementation of the requirements of the state policy in the field of management, prevention, reduction and control of industrial pollution and fulfillment of obligations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement; improvement of the level of environmental safety of the regions through the implementation of an integrated approach to environmental protection.