Case: on challenging of the conclusion of the state sanitary-epidemiological examination.
Region: Ukraine, Lviv region.
The essence of the case:
Behind the village of Lany, near the residential buildings of local residents, the construction of a poultry farm for 1 million of heads is planned. In the Unified Register of Strategic Environmental Assessment, the Detailed Territory Plan and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Report were published and submitted for public discussion. Having familiarized themselves with such documents, residents learned that based on the conclusion of the state sanitary-epidemiological examination, approved by the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP), the sanitary protection zone of the planned poultry farm with an annual capacity of 1 million of broiler chickens was reduced from 300 m. up to 152 m. According to the residents, the reduction of the sanitary protection zone took place illegally, the conclusion of the sanitary-epidemiological examination is based on incomplete, inaccurate and unreliable information, which violates their right to an environment safe for life and health and should be canceled.
Parties:
Plaintiff – local residents, Defendant – The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP), third parties without independent claims on the side of the Plaintiff – Bibrka City Council, third parties without independent claims on the side of the Defendant – Farm “Agro-Traditions”, State Institution “Institute of Public Health named after OHM. Marzeev National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”, PrJS “Energomontazhventilatsiya”.
The problem and key facts:
According to the sanitary rules, the size of the normative sanitary protection zone for poultry farms (in state and collective enterprises) with capacities up to 100 units of laying hens and up to 1 million of broilers per year is 300 meters, which is applicable to FG “Agro-Traditions”, farms with capacities more than 1 mln and up to 3 million broilers per year – is 1000 meters. During the development of such Detailed Territory Plan, it obviously became clear that residential buildings are located within normative sanitary protection zone, which makes it impossible to build such an object in the chosen location. Therefore, the “Agro-Traditions” farm initiated the reduction of the normative sanitary protection zone.
The farm declared the maximum permissible capacity of the poultry farm for the normative sanitary zone of 300 m. and also managed to reduce it almost in a half. At the same time, it indicated that the normative sanitary protection zone is 300 m. and only 7, not 41 residential buildings, are located within its zone from the north to the southwest. In the materials of the conclusion, nothing is mentioned about the other 34 houses, which are located in the south and north-west directions. In addition, the land plot of the Agricultural Farm “Agro-Traditions” borders with the land of residential and public buildings, and it is included in reduced 152 m. sanitary protection zone. Also, the direction of the winds and the fact that the wind blows mainly in the direction of residential buildings were not taken into account, the topography of the area, the impact on the water horizons, and the fact that a well enters the sanitary zone, from which centralized water supply for residents is provided, were not evaluated. All this calls into question the legality and reasonableness of lowering the sanitary protection zone for the planned “Agro-Traditions” poultry farm and the possibility of ensuring its compliance with the requirements of environmental protection legislation after start of its operation.
Questioning the legality and validity of the adoption of such a conclusion, taking into account the incompleteness and unreliability of the data on the basis of which it was adopted, defending one’s right and legitimate interest in an environment safe for life and health, residents filed a lawsuit in court with a request to declare illegal and cancel the conclusion of the state sanitary-epidemiological examination, approved by the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
The court of first instance fully satisfied the claims of the residents. However, Agricultural Farm “Agro-Tradition” and the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection filed appeals. Currently, the case is under consideration in the court of appeal.
The decision of the court of first instance can be found here.
More details in Ukrainian can be found here.
