Case:
Yabluneviy dar Ltd
Protection of citizens’ rights to clean and safe for life ambient air
Region:
Ukraine, Lviv region, Horodok town
Essence of the case:
Cancellation of the permit for pollutants emission into the ambient air issued by State Administration for Environmental Protection in Lviv region to Yabluneviy dar Ltd with violation of the procedure of issuing such permits.
Goal:
To protect the right of Horodok residents to clean air by forcing Yabluneviy dar Ltd to comply with environmental legislation.
Parties to the case:
Plaintiff: International public interest environmental law organization Environment-People-Law. Defendant: State Administration for Environmental Protection in Lviv region. The third party that does not have individual claims – Yablunevyi dar Ltd.
Essence of the case:
In December 2011 EPL was addressed by residents of Horodok town asking for protection of their right to safe for life and health environment that is violated by Yablunevyi dar Ltd. In order to obtain documents allowing Yablunevyi dar Ltd to perform manufacturing activity, EPL addressed the State Administration for Environmental Protection (hereinafter – Administration) with the request to provide us with a copy of the permit for pollutants emission into the ambient air. Having obtained the copy of the permit and having analyzed this and other documents, EPL detected that the permit had been issued with violation of the procedure of issuing such documents, namely the permit was not approved by the territorial sanitary and epidemiological body. Because of this violation of the environmental legislation EPL went to court requesting it to declare the permit unlawful.
Major facts:
On 17 September 2007, exercising its authorities envisaged by p. 4.6 of the Provision “On State Administration for Environmental Protection in regions and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol” approved by the Order of the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine of 19.02.2006 # 548 and par. 5 Art. 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Ambient Air”, the defendant issued to Yabkunevyi dar Ltd the permit # 4620910100-2 (hereinafter – the Permit) for pollutants emissions into the ambient air by stationary sources.
However, the defendant issued the challenged permit with violation of the above mentioned norm of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Ambient Air”, namely without approval from the territorial sanitary and epidemiological body.
According to par. 5 of Art. 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Ambient Air’, pollutants emission into the ambient air can be performed by stationary sources only after obtaining the permit issued by a territorial branch of the authorized central executive authority and approved by a territorial branch of the specially authorized central executive body for health protection.
According to p. 5 of the Procedure of performing and charging payment for works related to issuance of permits for pollutants emission into the ambient air by stationary sources, record-keeping of enterprises, institutions, organizations and citizens-enterprises that received such permits”(hereinafter – the Procedure), approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine #302 of 13 March 2002, the subject of economic activity submits to the territorial branch of the Ministry of Environment and the body of state sanitary and epidemiologic service paper and electronic versions of documents drafted according to approved by the Ministry of Environment Instruction on general requirements to drafting documents stipulating amounts of emissions for obtaining the permit for pollutants emission into the ambient air by stationary sources for enterprises, institutions, organizations and citizens-entrepreneurs (hereinafter – the Instruction) as well as posts in printed local media the announcement of intentions to obtain the permit indicating the address of local state administration to which NGOs and citizens can send their comments.
According to p.6 of the procedure, the state sanitary and epidemiological body reviews the application documents for obtaining the permit during 30 days since the date of receipt of the documents and if no objections are raised, it prepares the conclusion about issuing the permit to the subject of economic activity.
The challenged permit states that it was issued on the basis of conclusion of sanitary and epidemiological body in Horodok district # 21/1 of 06.07.2007.
However, as mentioned in p.5 of the conclusion, Yablunevyi dar Ltd submitted to the sanitary and epidemiological body in Horodok district the inventory report on pollutants and calculations of expected concentrations of pollutants emitted by stationary sources into the ambient air instead of documents stipulating amounts of emissions envisaged in Chapter 2 of the Instruction.
According to p. 1.3 of the Instruction, the documents stipulating amounts of emissions submitted by enterprises, institutions, organizations and citizens-entrepreneurs to obtain the permit for pollutants emission into the ambient air by stationary sources are mandatory part of the application for obtaining the permit for emissions.
The inventory report on pollutants emissions into the ambient air from stationary sources is only one of documents stipulating amounts of pollutants emissions. Therefore, the conclusion of the sanitary and epidemiological body issued on the basis of sanitary and epidemiological expertise of the inventory report on pollutants emission into the ambient air by stationary sources is not the proper conclusion meant by p. 6 of the Procedure as mandatory for obtaining the permit for emission into the ambient air.
Thus, the State Administration for Environmental Protection in Lviv region improperly issued the Permit #4620910100-2 to Yabluneviy dar Ltd on the basis of the conclusion of sanitary and epidemiologic body that could not be the main document.
The fact of issuance of the Permit for emission without positive conclusion of the sanitary and epidemiological body was also proved during the inspection of this enterprise performed by the sanitary and epidemiological body in Lviv region and recorded in the order #5478/01 of 06.10.11 issued to Yablunevyi dar Ltd by the regional sanitary and epidemiological body. According to p. 2 of the order, Yablunevyi dar Ltd is obliged to hire a licensed organization to develop documents stipulating amounts of emissions in order to obtain the permit for emission into the ambient air by stationary sources and submit them for sanitary and epidemiological expertise. The deadline for the order realization passed on 1 May 2012.
On the basis of the above mentioned facts, on 1 June 2012 EPL filed an administrative suit asking the court to declare unlawful the Permit for pollutants emission into the ambient air by stationary sources at Yablunevyi dar Ltd.
At the preliminary court hearing on 12 July 2012 the court involved to the case Yablunevyi dar Ltd as the third party having no individual claims. To give to the newly involved party sufficient time to study the case materials, the next court hearing is appointed for 4 September 2012.
