Normative Standards for Permissible Environmental Impact

General Provisions

Permissible impact norms on the environment (PIN) play a key role in legal regulation of nature protection and ensuring environmental safety. They define maximum permissible indicators of the influence of economic and other activities on natural objects, at which the environmental quality standards are maintained. Establishing such norms allows preventing ecosystem degradation, regulating anthropogenic load and ensuring balance between economic development and preservation of natural resources.

The main types of norms include maximum allowable emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms, limits for waste generation and their placement, as well as permissible physical impacts, including noise, vibration, heat and ionizing radiation. Norms also cover the allowable extraction of components from the natural environment and anthropogenic load on territories and water areas. All these indicators form a system ensuring compliance with environmental standards and preventing harm to the environment.

Special attention is given to emissions and discharges of substances where technological standards and limits are established based on the use of best available technologies. Permits for emissions and discharges are issued by executive authorities and are accompanied by a mandatory state fee. Exceeding the standards is considered a violation of legislation and entails liability for legal and physical persons, including the obligation to compensate for damage and the application of administrative measures.

Norms for waste generation and limits on their placement help prevent negative impact on soil, water, and atmosphere. Similarly, norms for permissible physical impacts and extraction of components from the natural environment ensure the preservation of ecosystems and rational use of natural resources. All these standards take into account the natural characteristics of territories and water areas, creating a comprehensive approach to environmental protection.

Judicial practice confirms the importance of compliance with permissible impact standards. For example, exceeding the allowable discharge concentrations (NDS) in wastewater is recognized as a basis for establishing harm to water bodies, even if background samples do not show exceedances of permissible concentration limits (PDK). This approach reinforces the liability of natural resource users and encourages the implementation of environmentally safe technologies. Ultimately, permissible impact standards are not only a tool for preventing environmental risks but also a mechanism for ensuring sustainable development and legal protection of the environment.

According to Article 1 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection," permissible impact norms on the environment are considered to be norms established in accordance with the indicators of the impact of economic and other activities on the environment, at which environmental quality norms are observed. According to S.A. Bogolyubov, maximum allowable harmful impact norms on natural objects are set based on the maximum allowable level of anthropogenic load, prolonged exposure to which will not lead to changes in the ecosystem of a natural object¹.

The permissible impact norms on the environment are established in order to prevent negative impacts of economic and other activities on the environment for legal and physical persons - users of natural resources. Permissible impact norms on the environment include: permissible emission and discharge norms for substances and microorganisms; norms for waste generation from production and consumption and limits for their placement; permissible physical impact norms (amount of heat, noise levels, vibration, ionizing radiation, electromagnetic field intensity, and other physical impacts); permissible norms for extraction of natural environment components; permissible anthropogenic load norms on the environment; and other permissible impact norms on the environment during economic and other activities established by the legislation of the Russian Federation and the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation in order to protect the environment.

Norms of permissible impact on the environment should ensure compliance with environmental quality standards taking into account the natural characteristics of territories and water areas. Entities engaged in economic and other activities are liable in accordance with legislation² (Article 22 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection") for exceeding established norms of permissible impact on the environment, depending on the damage caused to the environment.

Norms of permissible emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms

Emission and discharge norms for substances and microorganisms are established by entities engaged in economic and other activities for stationary, mobile, and other sources of environmental impact, based on permissible anthropogenic load norms for the environment, environmental quality norms, as well as technological norms. Technological norms are set for stationary, mobile, and other sources based on the use of best available technologies, taking into account economic and social factors.

In cases where compliance with permissible emission and discharge norms for substances and microorganisms is not feasible, limits on emissions and discharges may be established based on permits valid only during the period of environmental protection activities, implementation of best available technologies, and (or) realization of other environmental projects, taking into account phased achievement of established permissible emission and discharge norms for substances and microorganisms. The establishment of emission and discharge limits is allowed only in the presence of emission and discharge reduction plans coordinated with executive authorities responsible for state management in the field of environmental protection.

Emissions and discharges of chemical substances, including radioactive ones, other substances and microorganisms into the environment within the established norms of permissible emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms, emission and discharge limits are allowed on the basis of permits issued by executive authorities responsible for state environmental management. A state fee is paid for the issuance of permits for emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms into the environment in amounts and order established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees (Article 23 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

It is also important to understand the fundamental difference between emissions and discharges. Emissions are released into the atmospheric air, whereas discharges occur into water bodies.

Norms for waste generation from production and consumption and limits on their placement

Norms for the generation of waste from production and consumption and limits on their placement are established in order to prevent their negative impact on the environment in accordance with legislation.

A state fee is paid for issuing a document approving norms for the generation of waste from production and consumption and limits on their placement, in amounts and procedures established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees (Article 24 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Norms of permissible physical impacts on the environment

Norms of permissible physical impacts on the environment are established for each source of such impact, based on norms of permissible anthropogenic load on the environment, norms of environmental quality, and taking into account the influence of other sources of physical impacts (Article 25 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Norms of permissible extraction of components of the natural environment

Norms of permissible extraction of natural environment components - norms established in accordance with limitations on the volume of their extraction for the purpose of preserving natural and anthropogenic objects, ensuring sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems and preventing their degradation.

The norms of permissible extraction of natural environment components and the procedure for their establishment are determined by mining legislation, land legislation, water legislation, forestry legislation, legislation on wildlife and other legislation in the field of environmental protection, use of nature, and in accordance with requirements in the field of environmental protection, conservation and reproduction of certain types of natural resources established by this Federal Law, other federal laws and other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection (Article 26 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Norms of permissible anthropogenic load on the environment

Norms of permissible anthropogenic load on the environment are established for subjects of economic and other activities in order to assess and regulate the impact of all stationary, mobile and other sources of impact on the environment located within specific territories and (or) water areas.

Norms of permissible anthropogenic load on the environment are established for each type of impact of economic and other activities on the environment and the cumulative impact of all sources located on these territories and (or) water areas. When establishing norms of permissible anthropogenic load on the environment, natural characteristics of specific territories and (or) water areas are taken into account (Article 27 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Other norms in the field of environmental protection

In order to regulate the impact of economic and other activities on the environment, assess the quality of the environment in accordance with this Federal Law, other federal laws, and other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation, as well as laws and other normative legal acts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, other standards in the field of environmental protection may be established (Article 28 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Judicial practice

The establishment of the fact of exceeding permissible discharge norms in wastewater indicates harm to the water body regardless of background sample indicators.

Rospridnadzor Administration filed a lawsuit with the court for compensation of damage caused to the water body as a result of discharging harmful (polluting) substances in the composition of wastewater.

The first-instance court, with whose findings the appellate court agreed, refused to satisfy the claim, noting that exceeding the permissible discharge norms (hereinafter - PDS) of wastewater by itself cannot be considered evidence of harm. A mandatory sign of environmental damage is the presence of consequences in the form of degradation of natural ecological systems and depletion of natural resources.

The cassation court annulled the adopted judicial decisions and satisfied the claim, stating the following.

According to paragraph 2 of Article 16 of the Environmental Protection Law, discharges of pollutants, other substances and microorganisms into surface water bodies are one of the types of negative impact on the environment.

In accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 35 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation, maintaining surface and groundwater in a condition meeting legal requirements is ensured by establishing and observing norms of permissible impact on water bodies, which are developed based on maximum allowable concentrations of chemical substances, radioactive substances, microorganisms and other water quality indicators in water bodies.

The quantity of substances and microorganisms contained in discharges of wastewater, including drainage waters, into water bodies must not exceed the established norms of permissible impact on water bodies (paragraph 4 of Article 35 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation).

In the event that legal entities and individual entrepreneurs exceed the established norms of permissible impact, it is assumed that their actions cause harm (Article 3, paragraph 3 of Article 22, paragraph 2 of Article 34 of the Law on Environmental Protection, second sentence of point 7 of Resolution No. 49).

Exceeding the permissible impact norms on water bodies is a standalone violation of water legislation (part 4 of article 35 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation), and the property liability for which is determined based on the Methodology for Calculating the Amount of Damage Caused to Water Bodies as a Result of Violations of Water Legislation, approved by the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia dated April 13, 2009 No. 87 (hereinafter - Methodology No. 87).

According to paragraph 11 of Methodology No. 87, the basis for calculating the amount of damage caused to a water body is taken as the mass of the pollutant, which is determined as the difference between the concentration of the pollutant found in wastewater samples and the permissible discharge limit (PDL).

Since the exceedance of permissible maximum concentrations (hereinafter - PDK) of pollutants in a water body, recorded during the collection of background samples above the control cross-section, by itself indicates pollution of the environment and degradation of natural ecological systems, the discharge of wastewater by the user leading to an increase in pollutant concentration results in further deterioration of water quality parameters in the water body and causes harm to the environment. This harm is also caused in cases where the difference between the concentrations of pollutants recorded at the control cross-section and at the point of background sample collection does not exceed PDK.

Source: Overview of judicial practice on issues of applying environmental protection legislation (approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on 24.06.2022)