State environmental control in a new way
What will state environmental control be like? The quality of life of future generations depends on the answer to this question.
The concentration of toxic compounds in Ukrainian rivers exceeds the maximum permissible norms by 30-40 times.
Ukraine ranks 8th in Europe and 43rd in the world in terms of air pollution.
The number of animal species on the verge of extinction in our country has increased 8 times in the last 40 years.
These are just facts about environmental reality. And this is an alarming signal that makes us all think about the future.
State environmental control is a tool that will help stop the slide into disaster. It just needs to be made effective: so that no violator avoids punishment, so that businesses are interested in modernizing their facilities, so that we can not only react to environmental emergencies, but also prevent them.
That is why more than a year ago, Bill 3091 "On State Environmental Control" was registered in parliament - the first comprehensive legislative document regulating this area.
It finally streamlines the entire system, eliminates duplication of powers between different state bodies, and constructs mechanisms for implementing the functions entrusted to regulatory institutions.
In September 2020, the Committee on Environmental Policy sent it for a repeated first reading due to a significant number of comments.
The working group at the Ministry of Environmental Protection finalized the bill, taking into account constructive proposals. Not only people's deputies and managers, but also environmentalists and business representatives joined the process.
As a result, we received an improved document that can safely be brought to the stage of final voting. And therefore, on March 17, the relevant Committee recommended it for consideration in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada.
How does the updated version of the bill on state environmental control differ from its previous version?
- State environmental control will extend not only to entrepreneurs and individuals, but also to local self-government bodies, central and local executive authorities.
- State environmental control is partially removed from the scope of the Law "On the Basic Principles of State Supervision (Control) in the Sphere of Economic Activity". Currently, this has already been done for most regulatory bodies.
- Both the rights and obligations of entrepreneurs during inspections are clearly defined. For example, it is forbidden to change the address and internal labor regulations, which are currently too often abused.
- The presence of the head and his authorized person during the inspection is no longer mandatory. This will help unblock inspections of many polluting enterprises that have avoided responsibility for years using such a simple trick.
- Only a court can temporarily suspend the operation of an enterprise, but the violator will be held responsible for non-compliance with the relevant order.
- The SEI will be liquidated and a new state environmental control body will be created on its basis.
- The powers of this new institution and other authorities are clearly delineated. In particular, the State Geological Survey will retain issues of subsoil use, the State Geo-Cadastre - control over soil cover removal, the State Fisheries Agency - issues of aquatic biodiversity, and the state environmental control body - environmental protection functions.
- The salaries of employees of state environmental control bodies will be increased. It will be at least UAH 13,134 (currently - from UAH 5,500). This will make their work more efficient and minimize corruption risks.
The adoption of draft law 3091 will help adequately respond to the challenges facing ecology: lack of drinking water, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, climate change.
Of course, some people don't like this reform, because violators will have to answer to the law. And that's why those who want to continue destroying the environment with impunity have launched an attack against it. Intimidation and myths are being circulated, designed for non-specialists in environmental issues.
The first myth is that, they say, the draft law contradicts European and world practice. But in fact, it is a means of implementing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
It proclaims that "environmental policy shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that require preventive action to be taken, environmental damage to be rectified as a priority at source, and the polluter to pay".
Therefore, it is necessary to give the state environmental control real tools to perform its functions, and this is precisely what bill 3091 is aimed at.
The second myth is the stories that the new environmental control body will have too broad powers.
In fact, the powers will remain almost unchanged. Only the right of the inspector to submit a request for information from the enterprise before going for an inspection is added. Moreover, this is in the interests of the business itself, because prior acquaintance with the data will reduce the duration of the control measure.
Also, the state environmental control body will have the opportunity to apply administrative and economic sanctions. But similar powers are currently held by the State Labor Service, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, and market surveillance bodies.
If we compare the powers of the state environmental control body in Ukraine with similar institutions in Europe and the USA, we will see that, on the contrary, we are too restrained in endowing it with new functions.
In England, the Environment Agency (EA) is not only a controlling but also a permitting body. It issues permits for emissions or other activities that may lead to environmental pollution.
In the United States of America, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also issues permits for the use of hazardous substances, waste disposal, air emissions, and so on.
And in Israel, there is its own "green" police, which has the right to enter any facility, interrogate suspects, seize items, conduct searches, fine, open criminal proceedings, and issue orders.
Thus, bill 3091 does not threaten business, but on the contrary, will help it move in line with those European practices that define the environmental policy of the European Union today.
If Ukraine has declared a European vector of development, it cannot hopelessly lag behind Europe, because then we risk getting a new "iron curtain" that will separate us from the EU.
But most importantly, a better environment in Ukraine is not needed by Germans, French or Italians. It is needed by us, you, and our children. Today, this is a matter of the quality of life of future generations, which must be treated with extreme responsibility.
Andriy Malyovany, Head of the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine