In Novoyavorivsk, a service cooperative that had leased land for garage construction has been ordered to compensate more than UAH 12.2 million in damages for the pollution and littering of a municipal land plot. This was reported by the Yavoriv District Prosecutor’s Office.
The tenant was obliged to maintain the area, in particular to keep it clean and ensure the proper removal of waste. During an inspection of the plot, representatives of the Novoyavorivsk City Council together with specialists from the State Environmental Inspectorate in Lviv Region discovered unauthorised dumps of household and construction waste.
On the leased land, used car tyres, plastic, sawdust, film and other waste were recorded. As a result, the plot was littered and polluted, causing the environment multi-million-hryvnia damage.
Breaches of environmental protection legislation became grounds for the prosecutor’s office to file two lawsuits: one for compensation of the damage caused and another to oblige the defendant to restore the land plot to an appropriate condition.
The Commercial Court of Lviv Region, with the participation of the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (with the status of a directorate) of the regional prosecutor’s office, agreed with the arguments of the prosecution and fully upheld both claims. More than UAH 12.2 million is to be transferred to the special environmental protection fund of the Novoyavorivsk urban territorial community.
Once the decisions become final, the prosecutor’s office plans to take measures to ensure their effective enforcement.