Управління відходами has turned out to be an excellent shadow source of income and grounds for prosecution for an entrepreneur from the Sumy region and a city council member from Uzhhorod. A repeat offender poacher was caught for the third time for illegal fishing, while “black lumberjacks” systematically destroyed forest plantations.
EcoPolitic has compiled its traditional weekly digest of environmental crimes for its readers. The material is based on information reported from April 25 to May 1 by the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutor's offices, State Bureau of Investigation, and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Abuse in waste management
Millions in budget funds were misappropriated by a contractor who, commissioned by the Sumy City Council, was supposed to build a solid waste landfill. The man inflated the cost of soil transportation in his completion reports while simultaneously reducing its volume. The private entrepreneur managed to legalize over UAH 12 million by channeling it through the company’s activities. The total damages are estimated at nearly UAH 26.9 million. The case has already been referred to court.
Source: Sumy Regional Prosecutor's Office
Illegal profits from municipal waste sorting. In Uzhhorod, the director of the local utility company, who also serves as a city council member, orchestrated a shadow scheme for extracting recyclables at the city landfill. He charged for unrestricted access to the dump, where external individuals and machinery then sorted and removed waste. In this way, nearly 100 t of plastic, over 120 t of waste paper, and several tons of polyethylene were "stolen." The value of the resources amounted to nearly UAH 700,000. The official has been charged and taken into custody.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
A landfill instead of reclamation. In Kyiv region, 8 ha of land, where a depleted quarry was to be rehabilitated, was effectively turned into a dump. The situation outraged residents of the village of Horenka – apart from the constant stench from illegally dumped waste, there were persistent fires. The company wanted to extend its lease by ten years, but with the prosecutor's intervention, the court denied the request.
In the Odesa region, an area of over 4,000 m2 was littered with mixed waste – ranging from household to construction debris. According to the environmental inspectorate's calculations, the environmental damage is enormous – over UAH 193 million.
Illegal logging
Subscription to illegal logging. The forest ranger, who was acting as the head of one of the forest units of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in the Donetsk region, essentially created a subscription system for timber theft. For 10,000 UAH per day, the official would turn a blind eye to everything. Over time, his appetite grew-he demanded more money and larger volumes of illegal logging. The State Bureau of Investigation has already completed the pre-trial investigation, and the indictment has been submitted to court. The official faces up to ten years in prison.
In the Kirovohrad region, a group of “black loggers” spent about six months destroying trees in the protective forest strips of the Dolynska community. After the logging, the timber was transported, stored, and sold. Environmental damages exceeded 4 million UAH. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The three perpetrators may be imprisoned for up to seven years.
A synchronized special operation in Chernivtsi region made it possible to uncover a large-scale illegal timber export scheme to Moldova. The organizer is preliminarily identified as the head of a private enterprise. According to the investigation, he purchased unaccounted timber, forged documentation regarding its origin, and exported it. During 26 searches, about 1,000 cubic meters of roundwood were found, along with marking tags and cash in both hryvnia and foreign currency.
Source: Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Poaching
In the Kyiv region, a man caught fish near the village of Ratush without the necessary permits. According to calculations by the State Environmental Inspectorate, the damage to the environment exceeded 6 million UAH.
A repeat offender was caught for the third time engaging in illegal fishing. The man used prohibited gear to catch thousands of fish from the Kamianske Reservoir, causing environmental harm exceeding 2.5 million UAH. The poacher has been notified of suspicion; he faces imprisonment for up to three years.
Ownership of valuable land
The court ordered the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" to finally prepare documentation for establishing the boundaries of the Panivetska Dacha botanical reserve in the Khmelnytskyi region. These are lands covering 923 hectares, included in Ukraine’s Nature Reserve Fund. But the land plots were not entered into the State Land Cadastre, which posed a risk of illegal alienation.
Seventeen hectares of forest, which were recorded as agricultural land and had another owner, will be returned to the communal ownership of the Chernihiv Regional Council. In reality, they were being used by the State Enterprise “Chernihivrayagrolishosp”.
You can review the digest of environmental violations from the past week at this link.
