Regulation of the permissible discharges of pollutants into water bodies established by the federal legislation and feasible directions of its improvement

Summary

The analysis of the legal support for the regulation of permissible discharges of pollutants into water bodies has been conducted together with the mechanism of payment for the negative impact on water bodies. Inconsistency was revealed in the approach to regulating permissible discharges of pollutants and charging the objects of I – III categories of the negative environmental impact. Also, legal uncertainty was identified in the development and approval of methods and techniques of accounting for the natural background in regulating permissible discharges, which entailed the current problems of establishing regulations for permissible discharges for water users. Approaches to improving the environmental legislation to address related issues are described. There is a need to harmonize the requirements for establishing standards on permissible discharges for various categories of objects of negative environmental impact in terms of a more sound definition of the lists of pollutants subject to regulation, as well as the compliance of more stringent requirements with more hazardous categories of objects. To eliminate economically and technically inaccessible requirements to the quality of effluents discharged, a legislative justification of the limiting requirements to the water quality in receiving water bodies and effluent quality is proposed.

Key words

standards for permissible discharges , provisionally permitted discharges , objects of negative environmental impact

On choosing the priority pollution indicators while designing treatment facilities for surface runoff discharged into public wastewater disposal systems of settlements or water bodies

Summary

An overview of the main federal laws and regulations of the Russian Federation governing discharges of wastewater, including surface runoff, into water bodies and public wastewater disposal systems (combined, storm, combination) is provided. A new (updated) list of pollutants of water bodies subject to state control measures, approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 20, 2023 No. 2909-r effective January 1, 2024 is discussed. Based on the specific origine of the qualitative composition of surface runoff, a priority list of pollution indicators that should be taken into account while designing, constructing and reconstructing (upgrading) engineering structures for surface runoff handling systems is substantiated with account of the transition of discharge regulations to the principles of the best available technologies. Noted are legislatively unsettled problems contained in the regulatory-technical and legal basis for engineering in terms of surface runoff discharge into water bodies and public wastewater disposal systems.

Key words

best available techniques , surface runoff , standards for permissible discharges , best available techniques (BAT) , public wastewater disposal systems , priority pollution indicators

Evaluation of the harmonization of the environmental requirements

Summary

Evaluation of the active environmental documents – federal laws, RF Governmental Decrees, methods, environmental requirements – in relation to their harmonization was carried out. Inconsistencies in the names and designations of the same pollutants in different regulatory documents were revealed. It was found that the requirements to the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in commercial fishing water bodies and chemicals in water bodies used for public water supply and recreation lack detergents regulated by the environmental protection authorities. Proposals on eliminating the revealed inconsistencies were made. In this regard it is expedient to develop and adopt a document specifying the way of making VAT calculations, determining the succeeding charge for discharging pollutants into water bodies based on the main characteristics typical for domestic wastewater and surface runoff, and to compile a complete, single for all the natural resource users list of the regulated pollutants. Besides, it is necessary to issue Appendix to RF Governmental Decree No. 913 comprising the uniform methods of analyses of all the regulated pollutants or give references to the existing methods.

Key words

environment , negative impact , standards for permissible discharges , water bodies of commercial fishing importance , water bodies used for public water supply and recreation