Prosecutor's offices of the Vitebsk region on the main violations of environmental and land legislation

An important area of prosecutorial activity is the supervision of the enforcement of environmental and land legislation. In order to eliminate identified violations of legislation in this area, more than 200 response documents were prepared last year, about 250 individuals were brought to disciplinary, administrative, and material liability, and material damage in the amount of over 18 thousand rubles was compensated.

Close attention was paid to issues of compliance with legislation on the protection and use of waters, waste management, and the efficiency of land use.

Thus, numerous violations were identified during the inspection of compliance with environmental legislation in the handling of municipal waste in populated areas and horticultural associations, including facts of non-compliance with established requirements for container sites and containers for collecting municipal waste located in populated areas, shortcomings in the implementation of regional schemes for handling municipal waste, which regulate the procedure for collecting and removing municipal waste from populated areas and horticultural associations, and cases of non-compliance with the frequency of municipal waste removal. Deficiencies are allowed in the operation of solid municipal waste disposal facilities, including the presence of hazardous waste at these facilities that is not subject to disposal. The identified violations were established in most regions of the oblast and formed the basis for the preparation of 25 submissions and orders, including a submission to the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, following the consideration of which more than 40 individuals were brought to disciplinary responsibility.

Violations of water legislation were identified in the activities of agricultural organizations during the operation of livestock farms and complexes, a significant part of which are located in the water protection zones of water bodies. Along with the absence of appropriate devices and structures at these agricultural facilities that prevent the pollution of water resources, accumulation is allowed on the territory of farms and complexes

significant amount of organic matter, operational deficiencies of these facilities, resulting in wastewater entering adjacent areas, posing a threat of pollution to land and water resources, and in some cases, actual pollution. Similar violations occurred in Orsha, Polotsk, Sharkovshchyna, Braslav, Lepel and other districts. To eliminate these violations, prosecutors have issued relevant submissions and orders, and more than 20 individuals have been subjected to disciplinary action.

Significant violations of legislation and citizens' rights were identified during the inspection of compliance by local executive and administrative bodies with legislation on administrative procedures in the spheres of land use and construction activities. In particular, cases of executive committees issuing certificates of conservation for residential buildings under construction that have not been completed, after the construction period has expired, are widespread, and often several years after the specified period. Similar violations were identified in Vitebsk, Chashniki, Tolochin, Postavy, Beshenkovichi, Gorodok, Dokshytsy districts. There were instances of extending the construction period of a residential building after its expiry and cases of refusal to extend the construction period without considering the provisions of legislation and citizens' rights (Vitebsk). Formalism and other deficiencies are allowed in the processing of certificates of conservation for residential buildings. The information contained in the certificates does not always correspond to the actual circumstances, which indicates the possible issuance of a certificate without visiting the construction site, and the lack of control over the further condition of the construction object (Polotsk, Postavy and other districts). There were cases of violation of the deadlines for carrying out these administrative procedures (Polotsk, Glubokoe, Verkhnedvinsk, Vitebsk, Braslav district executive committees, Vitebsk city executive committee). Following the supervisory measures, 10 submissions were made to local executive committees, and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee was informed of the identified violations by the regional prosecutor's office.

In Shumilino, Dokshytsy, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Senno districts, it was established

facts of non-use of agricultural land totaling over 124 hectares, which was reflected in the submissions and orders sent by prosecutors to district executive committees and agricultural organizations, based on the results of which certain measures were taken aimed at involving the specified lands in agricultural circulation.

Violations of legislation were identified in the activities of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - Ministry of Natural Resources) during the administrative process (shortcomings in drawing up protocols and issuing decisions on administrative offenses, absence of necessary materials in the cases confirming the circumstances of the offense and the guilt of a specific person in its commission, incompleteness of the investigation of the case circumstances, etc.), in connection with which 15 submissions were prepared to the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Natural Resources (Dokshitsky, Gluboksky, Tolochinsky, Dubrovensky, Chashniksky, Orshansky districts, etc.), and unlawful decisions were protested by prosecutors.

Given the relevance of these issues, prosecutors will continue to work in these areas in 2023.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor

of the region for supervision of compliance

with environmental legislation

E.L. Kozlova