Technical Reports Parts C,D - ICPDR

136 Danube Pollution Reduction Programme – National Review, Ukraine
2.5. Law and Practice on Water Pollution Control
2.5.1. Legislation and Regulations
According to Ukrainian environmental legislation (regulations) economic branches try to
implement their policies with no deviations the “polluter pays” principle which, inter alea, foresees
payments for purposive use of natural resources, for pollutions caused to the environment,
including fees for effluence, as well as for the worsening of natural resources’ quality. This policy
is based on a system of water quality environmental standards, which are sanitary norms similar to
maximum permissible concentration, according to which utilities-polluters are given limitations for
effluents. It is generally accepted, at least theoretically, that such a policy has to encourage
industrial installations to save water resources and reduce volumes of effluents pursuant to fixed
maximum permissible levels. This policy does not envisage establishing of “technological
standards for effluents” to certain industrial facilities taking into account the capacities of available
techniques since the environmental regulations of Ukraine have no provisions similar to RACT,
BATNEEC or BACT principles. There are only particular branch norms for operating of clean-up
facilities to be approved by the highest officials dealing with the corresponding branch. However,
these norms are not prescriptive. All regulatory requirements regarding the operation of clean-up
facilities are laid down by the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of
Ukraine (MEPNS of Ukraine) in design documents and authorizations (licenses) for special use of
water.
The principal environmental regulation of Ukraine is the Ukrainian Law “On Protection of the
Environment” of June 25, 1996. This law establishes the basic principles for protection of the
environment. It regulates relationship in the field of protection and recovery of natural resources,
ensures the environmental security, prevents deleterious effects on the environment by industrial
and other activity. Another important regulation is the Water Code of Ukraine. Below are some
measures aimed at compliance with the environmental regulations by utilities of no matter which
form of property;
the conduct of environment examination (expertise) pursuant to article 26 of the Law “On
Protection of the Environment”. The procedures to conduct such an examination are
established by the instruction (explanatory note of prescriptive character) that was
approved by internal ordinance #15 of February 17, 1994 by the Ministry for
Environmental Protection of Ukraine;
fees for specials use of natural resources (Article 43), fees for causing pollutions of the
environment, including fees for effluence (Article 44), fees for the worsening of the
quality of natural resources (Article 45), amount of which has not been fixed yet.
State and public monitoring over compliance with environmental legislation (Article 9);
prevention of environmental infractions through setting constrains or suspending of
environmentally hazardous activities or even cession of such activities in case of
reiterative violations of environmental security norms and requirements;
various kinds of legal liability (criminal, administrative, disciplinary).
The system for environmental standards currently in force in Ukraine is based on sanitary or
sanitary-hygienic norms that are referred to maximum permissible concentrations, i.e. the
concentrations of eventually harmful chemical combinations in air, water and ground, which do not
cause pathogenic mutation or deceases following a lasting impact on human body on a day-by-day
basis. Maximum permissible concentrations are also referred to in the models for pollutant
dissolution in an aquedis environment that are used in order to set limits for effluents released by
industrial facilities.