Ukraine

• Author: Armen Khachaturyan and Oleh Furmanchuk
• Pages: 705-722

CHAPTER 34

Ukraine

ARMEN KHACHATURYAN AND OLEH FURMANCHUK

I. Air and Climate Change

A. Air Pollution Control

Under the Law on Protection of the Environment, dated June 25, 1991, as

amended (Environmental Law), and the Law on Protection of Ambient Air,

dated October 16, 1992, as amended (Air Protection Law), companies operat-

ing in Ukraine may emit polluting substances into the atmosphere via sta-

tionary sources only if they obtain a special air pollution permit listing

approved limits for each permitted substance and pay an ecological tax.1

Air pollution permits are issued for a term of at least seven years by the

Ministry of the Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine (Ministry of the

Environment) or a relevant local government administration, depending on

the degree of negative environmental impact involved. In each case, before

issuance of such permits, the issuing authority must receive the consent of

the relevant office of the State Sanitary-and-Epidemiological Service of

Ukraine.2

To receive an air pollution permit, an applicant must submit to the issu-

ing authority an application, together with the documents evidencing the

anticipated amounts of polluting substances emitted into the atmosphere,

and must publish in the local press an announcement on the intent to receive

an air pollution permit. The public announcement must contain specific con-

tact information for the local government administration, which is required

to collect comments from public organizations and individuals and forward

them to the issuing authority (the Ministry of the Environment or a relevant

department of the local government administration). The issuing authority

has 30 days from the application date to decide whether to issue the air pol-

lution permit. The issued permit indicates the maximum amounts of each

polluting substance that may be emitted into the atmosphere. Such limits

may not exceed the pollution limits established by the Ministry of the

Environment.3

705

B. Climate Change

Ukraine has been a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 19964 and the Kyoto Protocol to the

UNFCCC since 2004.5 Since 2008, the State Environmental Investment

Agency of Ukraine has been the authority primarily charged with the imple-

mentation of policy regarding climate change, fulfillment of the UNFCCC

and Kyoto Protocol, and the trade of emission units.6 Other authorities in

this area include the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.7

International trade in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution

accounting are generally subject to tight regulation, while a legal regime

encouraging further reduction of such emissions is not yet properly estab-

lished. The regulatory mechanism includes the National Electronic Register

of Anthropogenic Emissions and Greenhouse Gas Absorption, the National

Center of Accounting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the procedure for

approval of ecological (i.e., “green”) investments projects, public procure-

ment mechanism for such investments, sale and purchase of emission quo-

tas, and so on.8

II. Water

A. General Framework of Water Use

Under the Environmental Law and the Water Code of Ukraine, dated June 6,

1995, as amended (Water Code), companies may extract and use water, and

discharge polluting substances into water, only upon receipt of a special

water use permit listing certain approved quantities and payment of an eco-

logical tax.9

Water use permits concerning use of national water bodies are issued

by the local government administrations, while water use permits concern-

ing use of local water bodies are issued by regional local councils upon

consent of the local government administrations. A water use permit may

be issued for a short term (up to three years) or for a long term (up to 25

years).10

To receive the water use permit, an applicant must submit to the issuing

authority an application together with documentation of the requested water

consumption quantity. The documentation must be preapproved by a number

of state offices depending on the targeted water source (open water, subsur-

face water, recreational waterbodies, etc.). The local government administra-

tions and regional coucils have 30 calendar days from the application date to

decide whether to issue the water use permit to the applicant. The issued

water use permit indicates the maximum volume of water intake, water use,

and amount of each polluting substance that may be discharged into a water

source.11 Copies of the water use permit must be submitted to the territorial

bodies of the State Sanitary-and-Epidemiological Service of Ukraine and the

State Agency of Water Resources of Ukraine.12

706 INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW