The Federal supervisory natural resources management service (known as 'Rosprirodnadzor’) has established a procedure for approving the standards for generating and the limits for disposing of waste for facilities of category I

Pepeliaev Group advises that on 6 June 2020 the Rosprirodnadzor’s Administrative Regulation[1] (the ‘Regulation’) came into force. The Regulation establishes the procedure for approving the standards for generating and the limits for disposing of waste for facilities of category I.

Please be reminded that since 1 January 2019 the standards for generating and the limits for disposing of waste (the ‘Standards’) have been drafted by legal entities or individual entrepreneurs performing business and/or any other activity at facilities of categories I and II, i.e. at facilities that produce, respectively, a significant and a moderate negative impact on the environment.[2]

According to the new rules, for legal entities or individual entrepreneurs that perform activity at facilities of category I, the Standards are established as part of the comprehensive environmental permit (the “Permit”) that all facilities of category I in Russia must obtain no later than 1 January 2025[3]

However, the transitional provisions set out that from 1 January 2019 and until the date of obtaining a Permit the persons performing activity at facilities of category I may, as before, obtain a separate decision to approve the Standards, or have the previously obtained decision to approve the Standards reissued according to the procedure set out in the Regulation. Such decision will remain in force until the date when the Permit is obtained.[4]

Thus, the Regulation allows persons carrying out activity at facilities of category I:[5]

• to obtain a document approving the Standards within 30 business days;
• to have the document approving Standards reissued within 10 business days;
• to obtain a duplicate of the document approving the Standards within 5 business days;
• to correct misprints/errors in the documents that were issued earlier in accordance with the Regulation within 5 business days.

To obtain the above public services at Rosprirodnadzor’s regional departments, applicants should file, together with an application for the relevant public service and documents confirming the powers of the applicant's representative, the following documents:[6]

• to obtain the document approving the Standards - draft Standards developed in accordance with the methodological instructions of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources;[7]
• to have the document approving the Standards reissued - the original document approving the Standards that was issued previously according to the set procedure;
• to obtain a duplicate of the document approving the Standards - the original document approving the Standards (if such document has been destroyed);
• to correct the misprints/errors in the documents that were issued previously - the original document approving the Standards.

Documents may be filed either directly with the regional department of Rosprirodnadzor or via mail, or in electronic form signed by an enhanced qualified electronic signature.[8]

The main ground for approval of the Standards to be denied is the presence of arithmetical and logical errors in the justification of the Standards proposed for specific waste disposal facilities and/or errors made when filling in forms established by the methodological instructions of the Ministry of Natural Resources.[9]

The reissuing of the Standards may also be denied, among other things, owing to the absence of a waste disposal facility intended for the disposal of waste in the state register of waste disposal facilities, and owing to an insufficient capacity of such waste disposal facility at which the waste is planned to be disposed of in accordance with the Standards to be reissued.[10]

The approved Standards are valid for 5 years provided that the applicant submits a technical waste treatment report on an annual basis.[11] The validity period of a reissued document approving the Standards is set as equal to the validity period of the document approving the Standards that was previously issued.[12]

What to think about and what to do

Persons operating facilities of category I should take into account that one of the major difficulties relating to obtaining a Permit is the timeframe of such procedure which in practice may take from 4.5 and up to 8 months from the time when the standards in it were drafted (the Standards, the standards for the admissible emissions and the standards for the admissible discharges of highly toxic substances, etc.).

Therefore, if the Standards that were approved previously have expired or will expire shortly and a person does not have any possibility to obtain a Permit in the near future, we recommend obtaining a decision to approve the Standards in accordance with the Regulation.

Please be advised that non-performance of the obligation to draft Standards or to file the drafted Standards with a competent authority for approval, may entail administrative liability: for a legal entity - a fine of RUB 200,000 - RUB 350,000 and for an officer - a fine of RUB 20,000 - RUB 40,000.[13]

Help from your adviser

Pepeliaev Group’s lawyers are ready to promptly provide comprehensive legal support with respect to any issues arising in connection with Standards being approved and reissued and in connection with obtaining a Permit.