Challenged in court resolutions of the committee for using natural resources and ensuring environmental safety

Pepeliaev Group's lawyers challenged in court resolutions of the committee for using natural resources and ensuring environmental safety to impose administrative liability on the client for three environmental offences. The cases were significant for the client owing to reputational damage and a formal approach of the state body to the specific situation of the client, rather than to the risk of a fine being imposed. The facilities where the offences had been identified posed no real threats to the environment since they were facilities of sports and recreation infrastructure.

We managed to obtain explanations from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology that companies or facilities included in them that fall within the category of facilities creating an insignificant effect on the environment, do not have to observe the standards established previously in connection with the recent amendments to legislation (dated 1 January 2019). The new explanation of the Ministry releases a number of enterprises, including our client, from liability.