This week has not seen any high-profile environmental crimes, but local violations have nonetheless caused significant harm to nature, animals and people. As always, illegal logging and environmental pollution top the list. It is worth noting separately that hunting has been permitted in some regions, and hunters are already breaking the rules.
EcoPolitics presents a round-up of environmental offences that came to light between 5 and 11 September. This report draws on information from the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional public prosecutors’ offices, the State Bureau of Investigations and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Eco-tax fraud
For around four years, a scheme involving deliberate evasion of environmental tax was in operation at the household waste landfill site near Mukachevo. In total, payments were underreported by 5.6 million UAH. The scheme was simple – it involved manipulating the coefficients. The chief accountant used the lowest rate in his calculations, whereas, due to the site’s proximity to the town, the rate should, on the contrary, have been the highest – triple the standard rate. The company voluntarily repaid the amount of unpaid tax, so the chief accountant, who was under suspicion, was cleared of any liability.
Source: Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Forestry
He legalised illegal logging – and received a notice of suspicion. In the Ternopil region, the director of the municipal forestry department is charged with professional negligence resulting in serious consequences. The official issued logging permits without the necessary forest management documents. As a result of his authorisation, timber worth a total of over 4.5 million hryvnias was felled. The man faces between three and five years’ imprisonment.
Trees worth over 2.8 million UAH were felled. In the Zhytomyr region, the owner of a timber-processing plant organised a scheme involving four other ‘illegal loggers’. They sought out forested areas, felled the trees and transported them to the sawmill. The entrepreneur then ensured the timber was sold once it had been processed. The protected status of the forest areas was no obstacle to the accomplices – they even felled trees in a local hydrological reserve. All five have been notified that they are under suspicion.
Source: Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Environmental pollution
Despite not having an emissions permit, he did not suspend production. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the former production director of one of the enterprises that manufactured metal products is to stand trial. Whilst he was still in post, the State Environmental Inspectorate issued an order to suspend the facility’s operations, as it did not hold a permit for the emission of pollutants. However, the enterprise did not cease operations and, between 2021 and 2022, caused illegal emissions amounting to more than 8.7 million hryvnias.
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Inadequately treated sewage was being discharged into the river. For a long time, one of Lviv’s higher education institutions had been discharging sewage into the Yarichivka river basin canal, with levels of harmful substances exceeding the permitted limits. This amounted to approximately 500 cubic metres of such toxic liquid every day. The cause was the inefficient operation of the treatment plant, which had worn-out equipment. The damage to the environment amounted to almost 1.4 million UAH. Recently, following a claim by the public prosecutor’s office, the court ruled that the full amount of damages should be recovered.
Penalty for off-road driving
An incident of off-roading on the Svidovets Ridge in Zakarpattia caused a major stir. There, an off-road vehicle drove straight into Lake Hereshaska, which is recognised as a hydrological monument. In total, the vehicle damaged a strip of soil cover with vegetation measuring 127 metres long and 6 metres wide. The driver is accused of wilfully damaging areas and objects within the nature reserve fund that are under state protection. The indictment has been submitted to the court.
As reported on ZAXID.NET, the man drove across the lake back in June. He even filmed it, but deleted the video from social media after it went viral.
Source: Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Valuable land
In Kyiv, the public prosecutor’s office is demanding through the courts that the authorities finally establish the boundaries of the ‘Partisan Glory Park’ regional landscape park of local significance. The park covers an area of 115 hectares and forms part of the nature reserve fund. It has existed on paper since 1994, but its boundaries have still not been marked out on the ground. As a result, the park’s land may be occupied without authorisation or used for purposes other than those intended.
Source: Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office
Hunting without rules
Despite the war, a number of regions have authorised the hunting of game birds. These include the Cherkasy Oblast. The season there began on 5 September, and on the very first day the environmental inspectorate recorded violations. These included hunting with hunting dogs without the required registration documents, as well as a failure to record the game bagged in the relevant logbooks. Eight people were held administratively liable. EcoPolitika reported earlier on a similar situation in the Khmelnytskyi region.
You can read about last week’s environmental crimes here.
