New Ecology Amendments Spark Dispute In Kazakhstan’s Parliament

The Mazhilis considered the draft law on environmental issues in the first reading. The main purpose of the document is to update and clarify environmental legislation, Orda.kz reports.

A separate block of amendments is related to state environmental expertise and public hearings. The document proposes reducing the terms for obtaining environmental permits and conclusions for investment projects and hydrocarbon exploration projects. The exception will be offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

It is also proposed to transfer hydrocarbon exploration, transportation of gas, gas processing products, oil, and oil products through main pipelines from Category I facilities to Category II.

In addition, the bill consolidates the powers of state bodies in the field of waste management, recycling of secondary resources, climate financing, and the implementation of market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement.

Local executive bodies of villages, settlements, and rural districts are expected to receive the authority to organize sites for the collection, sorting, and disposal of municipal waste.

The draft also included rules on trade in saiga derivatives. It is proposed to determine the operator of such a system, its powers, and the procedure for the implementation of derivatives.

Ak Zhol faction deputy Azat Peruashev opposed some environmental amendments because of the risk of pressure on business. The faction does not agree with the idea of removing environmental control measures from Article 129 of the Business Code.

In his opinion, the authors of the amendments do not propose specific improvements, but in fact want to transfer the procedure for inspections to the discretion of inspectors themselves.

First of all, this violates the balance of rights and interests of entrepreneurs and inspectors. The inspector becomes above the inspected party and above the law. We are talking about increasing the administrative burden on business and increasing the number of inspections. Moreover, the forms and methods of these inspections are outside the law, which creates conditions for extra-legal influence on entrepreneurs. Let me remind you that when the Business Code was created, the former law on state supervision and control was included in it. If you remove any area from there and transfer regulation to a separate state body, it will subordinate these measures exclusively to its departmental interests. Trust my experience,the deputy said.

Peruashev stressed that the environmental problems around large enterprises really require attention. According to him, this concerns primarily monopolists in the energy sector, large mining, oil production, and oil refining companies. Stricter control can be provided for them, but within the limits of the Business Code.

The deputy warned that excluding environmental inspections from the general procedure will not affect large companies in practice, but small and medium-sized businesses. Large enterprises have legal departments, lawyers, and the ability to defend themselves in international arbitration, while small companies will be vulnerable to departmental arbitrariness.

According to the deputy, inspection bodies should work according to the rules of the Business Code and not seek exceptions for themselves.

Peruashev added that pressure on small and medium-sized businesses could increase the gap between the economy and the population’s incomes. According to him, SMEs help redistribute national income and form a middle class.

The Ak Zhol faction said it would not support the bill until this issue is resolved.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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