Hlyniany City Council has reimbursed almost UAH 1 million in damages caused to the environment by an illegal rubbish dump on municipally owned land between the settlements of Hlyniany and Maziv. This was reported by the Pustomyty District Prosecutor’s Office.
The case concerns a plot of more than 1 ha, owned by Hlyniany City Council. Under the law, the local self-government body is obliged to maintain this land in proper condition.
Prolonged inaction on the reclamation of the old dump and the lack of effective restrictions on access contributed to the further accumulation of waste. As a result of the illegal dumping of rubbish, the plot became littered and polluted, and in particular elevated levels of phosphorus, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, lead and copper were recorded.
The damage caused to the environment as a result of these violations amounts to almost UAH 1 million. The identified breaches of land protection and environmental legislation formed the basis for the prosecutor’s office to bring the case to court.
The Commercial Court of Lviv Region upheld the claim and ruled that funds be recovered from Hlyniany City Council. The court of appeal later supported the prosecutors’ position and left this decision unchanged. Prosecutors from the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (with the status of a department) of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office took part in the court hearings.
As of today, the court’s decision has been fully implemented and the damage caused to the environment has been compensated.