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About new developments for business entities regarding compliance to the legislation on environmental impact assessment

The Law of Ukraine "On Environmental Impact Assessment" has been adopted to replace the existing Law of Ukraine "On Environmental Expertise".

 The new developments introduced by the Law of Ukraine "On Environmental Expertise" are the following:

• preparation of report on environmental impact assessment by the business entity;

• public hearings;

• analysis by the authorized body of the information provided in the report on environmental impact assessment, and information received during the public hearings;

• provision by the competent authority of the reasoned resolution on environmental impact assessment, based on the results of this analysis;

• consideration by state and local authorities of the resolution in the approval document, which is the basis for the beginning of the planned activity (final decision);

• post-project monitoring.

Unlike the Law "On Ecological Expertise", the Law of Ukraine "On Environmental Impact Assessment" specifies the list of entities and activities that can have a significant impact on the environment and which are subject to environmental impact assessment.

In particular, the following activities are subject to environmental impact assessment: waste management activity, facilities for intensive poultry operation and hog growing; agricultural and forestry-based industrial development, land cultivation and land reclamation (water resources management for agriculture, including irrigation and land reclamation) on the area of ​​20 hectares or more; industrial plants for recycling, removal of animal carcasses and / or animal waste; activity in the food industry, textile, leather, wood and paper industry with the output of more than 1 ton per day; economic activity, resulting in the pollution discharge into water objects and water withdrawal from water objects, provided that underground water withdrawal exceeds 300 cubic meters per day.

It is prohibited by the law to start the activities, which are subject to the environmental impact assessment, without environmental impact assessment.

The law provides responsibility for violation of legislation on environmental impact assessment, namely:

• restrictions of activity - until fulfillment of all environmental conditions established in the resolution of the environmental impact assessment;

• temporary prohibition (termination) of activity – the enterprise, separate departments or pieces of equipment stop the operation until obtaining a resolution on environmental impact assessment or fulfillment of environmental conditions established in the resolution of the environmental impact assessment;

• termination of the activity - the operation of the enterprise or individual departments and pieces of equipment is terminated completely.