Licensing grounds

Licensing of the oil operations resulting in environmental oil pollution in the Republic of Kazakhstan is subject to the following main statutory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

1. Licensing Act adopted on April 17, 1995 in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2. Environmental Protection Act adopted on July 15, 1997 in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
3. Resolution No. 1894 dated December 29, 1995 «On implementation of the RK President?s Decree No. 2201 dated April 17, 1995», issued by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4. Resolution No. 19 dated January 8, 2004 «On approval of the List of environmentally dangerous economic activities and the Rules for their compulsory governmental licensing», issued by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

Resolution No. 19 «On approval of the List of environmentally dangerous economic activities and the Rules for their compulsory governmental licensing», issued by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has been in effect since January 8, 2004.

The Resolution above:

1. Has adopted the List of environmentally dangerous economic activities, including the oil operations (other than drilling oil operations) resulting in environmental oil pollution;
2. Has adopted the Rules for compulsory governmental licensing of the environmentally dangerous economic activities;
3. Has made amendments in the RK Government?s Resolution No. 1894 dated December 29, 1995 «On implementation of the RK President?s Decree No. 2201 dated April 17, 1995», pursuant to which the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been authorized to issue licenses to carry out the environmentally dangerous economic activities. Also pursuant to the changes in the Resolution the activity connected with the oil operations and minerals processing has been included into the List of work and services to be licensed and requiring the opinion of sanitary and mining engineering supervision authorities.

The environmentally dangerous economic activities are the following:

1. Land use (technical reclamation of the lands polluted with toxic, radioactive and other hazardous substances);

2. Water resources use:

• construction and placement in drainage areas of enterprises and facilities using for industrial purposes potentially dangerous chemicals, biologicals and radioactive materials polluting and chocking water bodies;
• construction and placement of facilities and erections within the boundaries of water protection zones and water bodies zones;

3. Carrying out of the oil operations and use of the man-caused mineral formations:

• carrying out of the oil operations (other than drilling oil operations) polluting the environment;
• placement, storage and use of the man-caused mineral formations adversely affecting the environment;
• burning of associated or natural gas in torches or otherwise;

4. Impact on the earth?s ambient air, climate and ozone layer:

• atmospheric emissions of pollutants adversely affecting the environment and exceeding the specific rates established for fixed emission sources, production processes and equipment;
• work performance using ozone layer breaking substances, and repair, installation and maintenance of the equipment containing the ozone layer breaking substances;

5. Production wastes disposal, storage and removal (burning, chemical treatment, storage and burial of the dangerous production wastes and their transboundary carriage);

6. Other environmentally dangerous economic activities:

• placement, construction and reconstruction of enterprises, facilities and other amenities in the littoral area of the northern part of Caspian Sea, navigation and dredging, oil operations, shell rock production, reed procurement, fishery and use of especially protected native zones in the marine territory of the northern part of Caspian Sea;
• production and application of potentially dangerous biologicals adversely affecting the environment, bilogical species breeding and dissemination in the environment.

The main innovation introduced by the above resolution is that now the person carrying out the oil operations (other than drilling oil operations) resulting in environmental oil pollution is obliged to obtain the license to carry out the environmentally dangerous economic activity.

License obtaining procedure

To obtain the license an applicant should submit to a licensor (the Ministry of Environmental Protection) the following documents:

1. Application as per pattern approved by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2. Copy of the State Incorporation Certificate;
3. Documents evidencing, that a legal entity?s head (his/her substitute) has the appropriate background for a job;
4. Documents evidencing the availability of appropriate material and production resources to place, transport, purify and decontaminate hazardous substances (pollutants), and special facilities to restore the natural resources;
5. Document evidencing the license tax payment due to the budget.

The License is issued within the period of not later than one month, and to small-sized entrepreneurship entities-within the period of not later than ten days from the date, when the application together with all the required documents has been submitted.

The RK Government?s Resolution No. 19 date January 8, 2004 «On approval of the List of environmentally dangerous economic activities and the Rules for their compulsory governmental licensing» has not addressed the matter concerning its regulations retroactive effect, i.e. whether they are applicable or not to the relations arising before its Effective date. It is not clear, whether the persons engaged in the activity related by this Resolution to the environmentally dangerous economic activity are obliged or not to obtain the license to carry out such activity. Also, there is no period established, within which the persons engaged in the environmentally dangerous economic activity are obliged to obtain the license. Pursuant to Article 37 of the RK Statutory Legal Acts Law of March 24, 1998 the statutory legal act may be applied to the relations arising before its effective date only in the case, when the retroactive effect of such act or its part has been provided for by it itself or its enactment act, and if the latter exempts from or mitigates the violation liability previously provided for. Pursuant to Clause 3 of the same Article «statutory legal acts establishing or toughening the liability or imposing new duties on persons or aggravating their state shall have no retroactive effect».

Thus, the persons engaged in the environmentally dangerous economic activity before 8.01.20004 are not required to obtain the license to carry out such activity.

We hope, that these information will be useful for you and help you to understand and assess in due time, how the licensing of the environmentally dangerous economic activities is important and necessary. «GRATA» Law Firm is prepared to render a comprehensive assistance in preparation of the documents required to obtain the license to carry out the environmentally dangerous economic activities.