The introduction of a unified environmental permit system in Ukraine, which is to replace separate permitting procedures in the field of air emissions, special water use and waste management for enterprises, became the key topic of the round table that the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine held on May 27 in Kyiv.
The event “Reform of Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control: Introduction of Unified Permits” was attended by people’s deputies, representatives of business, state authorities, local governments, expert circles and international partners.
“The reform of industrial pollution prevention is one of the most relevant in the environmental sphere, as Ukraine must implement it in the context of European integration. We are now preparing for the next stage – the unification of the permitting system for enterprises. For business, this will mean simpler and standardized procedures, less administrative burden, transparent and predictable operating rules, and gradual approximation to European approaches in the field of environmental regulation,” said Oleksiy Sobolev.
The roundtable participants discussed further steps in the reform of industrial pollution prevention and control in Ukraine, in particular, the digitalization and unification of permitting procedures for enterprises that do not fall under the requirements of Directive 2010/75/EU (groups 2 and 3), the development of a system of integrated environmental permits, the adaptation of business to new environmental requirements, as well as international experience in implementing European environmental standards.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Environmental Policy and Environmental Management, Oleh Bondarenko, emphasized the importance of high-quality legislative support for the reform of industrial pollution prevention and control as one of the key components of Ukraine’s European integration.
As part of the reform, the Law of Ukraine “On Integrated Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control” has already entered into force, which implements the provisions of Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions and introduces an integrated approach to the permitting system – one integrated environmental permit instead of three separate procedures in the field of emissions into the atmosphere, special water use and waste management.
The ministry has already developed and the Government has adopted all the subordinate regulatory legal acts necessary for the implementation of the law (14 resolutions, 1 order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and 3 orders). An IT system for issuing integrated environmental permits has also been developed and tested, which is already available on the EcoSystem platform.
In addition, 14 reference documents on the best available technologies and management methods (BAT) have already been translated, and agreements have been reached on the translation of other European BAT reference documents.
Deputy Minister Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi reported that the ministry had received the first application for an integrated environmental permit (IEP), which was currently being processed.
“Given the experience of implementing integrated environmental permits and digitalizing procedures, we plan to begin the next stage of the reform – to unify permitting activities for enterprises of the second and third groups. Our task is to make the system more understandable, transparent and convenient for business, while ensuring the appropriate level of environmental control,” said Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi.
The ministry emphasizes that for the successful implementation of the reform, it is important to ensure constant feedback between the state, business, and the public in order to timely identify practical problems and develop effective solutions. To this end, they plan to create an interdepartmental working group. (Economy Ministry)