A municipal enterprise in the Lviv region must compensate more than UAH 1.4 million in losses for the illegal use of groundwater without a special permit. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The enterprise, which abstracts, treats and supplies water, used water from underground boreholes for its own needs without the necessary special permit. Groundwater is part of mineral resources and belongs to the state, therefore its extraction requires separate authorisation.
The violation was uncovered by the State Environmental Inspectorate in the Lviv region during a scheduled inspection in 2019. The Inspectorate established that the enterprise had violated the state’s property rights to mineral resources and caused environmental damage through the illegal use of groundwater.
According to an expert assessment, the amount of environmental damage resulting from the breach of water protection regulations exceeded UAH 1.4 million. These circumstances formed the basis for the prosecutors of the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office to file a claim with the court for compensation of the losses.
The court agreed with the prosecutor’s arguments regarding the use of mineral resources without a special permit and ordered the municipal enterprise to pay the damage caused to the state. Once the decision becomes legally binding, prosecutors will take measures to ensure its actual enforcement.