Court to hear case on pollution of Almazne Lake by Kyivpastrans waste

An official of the municipal enterprise "Kyivpastrans" has been referred to court on suspicion of intentional damage to an object of the nature reserve fund. The investigation established that due to the lack of proper maintenance of sewage facilities on the territory of the bus depot, used oil products were entering Almazne Lake.

Concentration of harmful substances exceeded the norm by 120 times

As reported by the Desnyanska District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv, the indictment has already been sent to the court. According to the investigation, there is an underground stormwater drainage system on the depot's territory, which is connected to the city's sewage network. The outlet of this network is located directly on the shore of Almazne Lake.

The bus depot is located less than 200 metres from the water body. During the operation of vehicles, liquid waste is generated, including used lubricants and fuel. Although local sewage systems are provided to prevent these substances from entering the water, investigators found that they had not been properly maintained for several years.

Lab tests confirmed that the concentration of oil products in the water of Almazne Lake exceeded the established permissible norm by 120 times.

Status of the water body and possible punishment

Almazne Lake has an area of 185 hectares. By a decision of the Kyiv City Council dated 27 October 2022, it was given the status of a local landscape reserve, which is part of the nature reserve fund of Ukraine.

The actions of the "Kyivpastrans" official were qualified under Part 1 of Article 252 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for liability for the intentional damage of territories and objects of the nature reserve fund that are under state protection.

For this offence, the suspect faces one of the following types of punishment:

• a fine in the amount of 1,000 to 3,000 non-taxable minimums of citizens' income;
• probationary supervision for a period of up to three years;
• restriction of liberty for a period of up to three years.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the Desnyanska Police Department of Kyiv under the operational support of the Directorate of Strategic Investigations in the city of Kyiv. Specialists from the municipal enterprise "Pleso" and the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Capital District were involved in the process.

In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent until their guilt is proven in the manner established by law and confirmed by a guilty verdict of the court.