Guidebook on applying for environmental permits in Russia : case pulp and paper plant

Abstract

Environmental permits are used to control and minimize the harm that manufacturing facilities and other businesses can cause to people’s health and to the environment. These permits, however, only regulate the impact in a single localized point which causes problems when the negative environmental impact extends beyond the area of the permit’s jurisdiction. Thus, countries that are in close proximity to each other and share access to the same natural resources need to work together on harmonizing their environmental legislation.

The aim of the thesis was to facilitate harmonizing cooperation both between businesses and between governments of Russia and Finland by creating a concise and fluent overview in the form of a guidebook of the current Russian legislation that regulates environmental permit issuing. In order to gain information for the thesis a literature review was conducted using the most current laws, decrees, orders, and acts issued by both Russian and Finnish governments.

The first part of the guidebook goes through the main legal definitions, the differences between regional and federal level legislations, how environmental impact is classified, what are the responsible authorities and how they enforce the permits, how best available technologies are used, what is an environmental performance improvement programme, how state environmental supervision and state environmental assessment are conducted and what kind of monetary compensation do companies have to pay for their negative environmental impact. The second part of the guidebook goes through the process of applying for state registration and creates a model application for an environmental permit using a case of a real pulp and paper mill.

The guidebook is useful for gaining a general understanding of the environmental permit acquisition process in Russia but does not go through every step of the process in full details and thus cannot be considered a comprehensive guide. Due to the fact that legislation constantly changes, it is important to consult the latest version of legal documents referred to in this guidebook for the most relevant, up-to-date information.