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The legal regime of emergency situation zones represents a set of norms regulating the order of protecting the population, territories, and the environment in the event of natural and man-made threats.
It is based on a number of federal laws and establishes rules of behavior for government bodies, organizations, and citizens under conditions of increased danger.
The key role in implementing state policy in this area is played by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (MCHS), which coordinates the prevention and elimination of emergency situations.
An emergency situation zone is characterized as an area where threats to human life and health, the environment, and infrastructure objects have arisen.
The legislation establishes procedures for determining the boundaries of such zones, their classification according to the scale of consequences, as well as response levels – from object-level to federal level.
Particular importance is attached to the functioning of a unified state system for preventing and eliminating emergency situations, ensuring prompt response, population protection, and minimizing damage.
The introduction of special regimes allows restrictive measures aimed at ensuring security and restoring the disturbed environment.
Among the main federal laws defining the legal regime of zones affected by emergency situations, we can highlight: The Federal Law "On Environmental Protection"; The Federal Law "On Protecting Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of Natural and Technological Origin"; The Federal Law "On Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities".
Protection of the environment in zones affected by emergency situations is established by the federal law on protecting population and territories from emergency situations of natural and technological origin, 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 Federation1.
The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural Disasters (MChS Russia) is a federal executive body responsible for developing and implementing state policy, normative legal regulation, as well as supervision and control in the field of civil defence, protection of population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies, ensuring fire safety and safety of people on water bodies2.
In order to fully study the legal regime of emergency situations zones, we will consider: the conceptual apparatus; classification of emergency situations; determination of boundaries of emergency situation zones; the unified state system for prevention and elimination of emergency situations.
An emergency situation zone is an area where an emergency situation has occurred3. An emergency situation represents a condition on a specific territory that has arisen as a result of an accident, dangerous natural phenomenon, disaster, or other calamity, which may have caused or resulted in human casualties, harm to people's health or the environment, significant material losses, and disruption of living conditions for people4.
The boundaries of emergency situations zones are determined by the persons in charge of emergency situation liquidation works appointed in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation, based on the classification of emergency situations established by the Government of the Russian Federation, and upon coordination with executive bodies of state authority and local self-government bodies within whose territories emergency situations have arisen5.
By the Government of the Russian Federation decree "On Classification of Natural and Man-Made Emergency Situations"6 it is established that natural and man-made emergency situations are divided into:
a) an emergency situation of a local nature, as a result of which the territory where the emergency situation has occurred and the conditions for human life activities have been disrupted (hereinafter referred to as the emergency area) does not extend beyond the territory of the object, provided that the number of people who died or sustained health damage (hereinafter referred to as the number of victims) does not exceed 10 persons, or the extent of damage to the surrounding natural environment and material losses (hereinafter referred to as the amount of material damage) does not exceed 100 thousand rubles;
b) an emergency situation of a municipal nature, as a result of which the emergency area does not extend beyond the territory of one settlement or within-city territory of a city of federal importance, provided that the number of victims does not exceed 50 persons or the amount of material damage does not exceed 5 million rubles, and this emergency situation cannot be classified as an emergency situation of a local nature;
c) an emergency situation of intermunicipal character, as a result of which the affected area covers the territory of two or more settlements, intra-city territories of a federal city or inter-settlement territory, provided that the number of victims does not exceed 50 people or the amount of material damage does not exceed 5 million rubles;
d) an emergency situation of regional character, as a result of which the affected area does not extend beyond the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation, provided that the number of victims exceeds 50 but does not exceed 500 people or the amount of material damage exceeds 5 million rubles but does not exceed 500 million rubles;
e) an emergency situation of interregional character, as a result of which the affected area covers the territory of two or more subjects of the Russian Federation, provided that the number of victims exceeds 50 but does not exceed 500 people or the amount of material damage exceeds 5 million rubles but does not exceed 500 million rubles;
e) a federal-level emergency situation, as a result of which the number of victims exceeds 500 people or the amount of material damage exceeds 500 million rubles7.
The Unified State System for Emergency Situations Prevention and Elimination combines management bodies, forces, and resources of federal executive authorities, executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, and organizations whose powers include addressing issues related to protecting the population and territories from emergency situations, including ensuring people's safety on water objects8.
The main tasks of the unified state system for prevention and elimination of emergency situations are: development and implementation of legal and economic norms to ensure protection of the population and territories from emergency situations, including ensuring the safety of people on water objects; implementation of targeted and scientific and technical programs aimed at preventing emergency situations and increasing the resilience of organizations, as well as objects of social purpose in emergency situations; ensuring readiness for action by management bodies, forces and means designated and allocated for prevention and elimination of emergency situations; collection, processing, exchange and provision of information in the field of protection of the population and territories from emergency situations; preparation of the population for actions in emergency situations, including organization of explanatory and preventive work among the population aimed at preventing the occurrence of emergency situations on water objects; organization of alerting the population about emergency in situations and informing the population about emergency situations, including urgent notification of the population; forecasting and assessing the socio-economic consequences of emergency situations; creating reserves of financial and material resources for the elimination of emergency situations; conducting state expertise, supervision and control in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations; eliminating emergency situations; carrying out measures to provide social protection to the population affected by emergency situations, conducting humanitarian activities; implementation of the rights and obligations of the population in the field of protection against emergency situations, as well as persons directly involved in their elimination; international cooperation in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations, including ensuring the safety of people on water objects.
The principles of construction, composition of personnel and resources, order of performing tasks and interaction of the main elements, as well as other issues related to the functioning of the unified state system for preventing and eliminating emergency situations are determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation, orders and directives of the Government of the Russian Federation9.
The management bodies and forces of the unified state system for preventing and eliminating emergency situations operate in the following modes: routine operations - when there is no threat of an emergency situation arising; heightened readiness - when there is a threat of an emergency situation arising; emergency situation - during the occurrence and elimination of an emergency situation10.
When introducing a state of heightened readiness or an emergency situation, depending on the consequences of the emergency situation, the forces and resources involved in preventing and eliminating the emergency situation within the unified state system for prevention and elimination of emergency situations, classification of emergency situations, nature of development of the emergency situation, as well as other factors affecting the safety of population's vital activities and requiring additional measures to protect the population and territories from the emergency situation, one of the following response levels is established: object-level response; local-level response; regional (intermunicipal) level response; federal-level response11.
The object level of response is established by the decision of the organization's head when dealing with an emergency situation using the forces and means of the organization located in the area of the emergency, if the emergency area is within the territory of this organization12.
Local level response is established: by the decision of the head of the settlement when eliminating an emergency situation using the forces and means of organizations and local government bodies located in the area of the emergency situation affecting the territory of one settlement; by the decision of the head of the municipal district when eliminating an emergency situation using the forces and means of organizations and local government bodies located in the area of the emergency situation affecting inter-settlement territory, or the territories of two or more settlements, or the territories of settlements and inter-settlement territory, if the emergency zone is within the territory of one municipal district; by the decision of the head of the city district when eliminating an emergency situation using the forces and means of organizations and local government bodies located in the area of the emergency situation, if the emergency zone is within the territory of the city district; by the decisions of officials determined by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation - the cities of federal significance Moscow and of Saint Petersburg, during the liquidation of an emergency situation on intra-city territories of federal cities Moscow and Saint Petersburg13.
The regional (inter-municipal) level of response is established by the decision of the highest-ranking official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state authority of a subject of the Russian Federation) during the elimination of an emergency situation using the forces and means of organizations, local self-government bodies, and executive authorities of a subject of the Russian Federation that are located in the area of the emergency situation, which affects the territories of two or more municipal districts or the territory of a municipal district and a city district, provided that the emergency zone is within the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation14.
The federal level of response is established by the Government of the Russian Federation when eliminating an emergency situation using the forces and means of executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation located in the area of the emergency situation, which affects the territories of two or more subjects of the Russian Federation15.
The special level of response is established by the President of the Russian Federation when eliminating an emergency situation with the involvement, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, of federal executive authorities' forces and means, including specially trained forces and means of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops and military formations.*16
When introducing a state of heightened readiness or an emergency situation, as well as when establishing the level of response for the relevant management bodies and forces of the unified state system for emergency situation prevention and elimination, the authorized state authority body, state official (local self-government body official) may appoint a head of work on eliminating the emergency situation, who is responsible for conducting these works in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and take additional measures to protect the population and territories from emergency situations:17
a) restrict access of people and vehicles to the territory where there is a threat of an emergency situation arising, as well as to the emergency situation area;
b) determine the procedure for de-mobilizing material reserves located in the area of an emergency situation, except for the state material reserve;
c) determine the procedure for using transportation means, communication and alerting equipment, as well as other property of government authorities, local self-government bodies and organizations;
d) suspend the activities of an organization located in the area of an emergency situation if there is a threat to the safety of workers of that organization and other citizens present on its territory;
e) implement measures conditioned by the development of an emergency situation, which do not restrict the rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens, and are aimed at protecting the population and territories from an emergency situation, creating necessary conditions for preventing and eliminating an emergency situation and minimizing its negative impact.
In accordance with environmental legislation and legislation on protection of the population from natural and man-made emergencies, water bodies and river basins may be declared zones of ecological disaster and emergency situations, in which changes occur as a result of man-made and natural phenomena that pose a threat to human health or life, to objects of fauna and flora, and other environmental objects.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that the owner of a water body is obliged to implement measures to prevent negative impact of waters and eliminate its consequences. Measures to prevent negative impact of waters and eliminate its consequences in relation to water bodies owned by the federal government, the governments of the subjects of the Russian Federation, or municipal formations are carried out by executive authorities of state power or local self-government bodies within their authority in accordance with Articles 24 - 27 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation.
The boundaries of territories prone to flooding and waterlogging, as well as the regime for carrying out economic and other activities on these territories depending on the frequency of their flooding and waterlogging are established in accordance with legislation on urban planning activities.
On territories prone to flooding, the placement of new populated areas, cemeteries, livestock burial grounds, and the construction of capital buildings, structures, and facilities without conducting special protective measures to prevent the negative impact of water is prohibited (Article 67 of the Water Code of the Russian Federation).
2007. No. 22. Art. 2640.
2007. No. 22. Art. 2640.
On environmental protection: part 1 of article 12. Art. 57. ↩
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 11.07.2004 No. 868 "Issues of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters" // RSZ RF. 2004. No. 28. Art. 2882. ↩
Federal Law "On Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature". Art. 1. ↩
Federal Law "On Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature". Art. 1. ↩
"On Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature". Art. 5. ↩
Government Decree of the Russian Federation dated 21.05.2007 No. 304 "On Classification of Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature" // RSZ RF. ↩
Government Decree of the Russian Federation dated 21.05.2007 No. 304 "On Classification of Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature" // RSZ RF. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergencies of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
On the Protection of Population and Territories from Emergency Situations of a Natural and Technological Nature. Art. 4.1. ↩
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