Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Whose Quarries? Police Are Looking for Who Is Extracting Clay Near Highway H-31 in Poltava Region
In July, while driving along the under-construction highway H-31 on the outskirts of the village of Shamraivka (Poltava region), a NADRA.info correspondent noticed two sites where work resembling quarry-style mineral extraction was taking place.
Excavators were loading material into dump trucks, which were driving it toward the construction of highway H-31. Approximate coordinates of the sites are as follows:
Site 1 (coordinates 49.370481, 34.007874, cadastral number 5321884600:00:011:0828):
Site 2 (coordinates 49.379934, 34.011975, cadastral numbers 5324285600:00:010:0222, 5324285600:00:010:0072, 5324285600:00:010:0073):
What were we able to find out?
The mineral extraction shown in the photos should have been conducted on the basis of a special permit for subsoil use.
On the interactive map of the State Geological Portal we were unable to confirm the existence of a valid special permit for the plots/deposits that would correspond to the coordinates of the excavated sites shown in the photos.
Screenshot of the interactive map of special permits. With numbers and arrows we marked the approximate locations of the quarries. Information about special permits is absent
We also did not find traces of special permits for these sites in the databases of DNVP Geoinform of Ukraine.
At the same time, assuming that information about special permits might not yet have been updated in the databases and on the interactive map, we decided not to rush to conclusions and 22.07.2021 sent official inquiries to the Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine Roman Opimakh, the Acting Head/First Deputy Head of the State Agency of Motor Roads of Ukraine Yevhen Kuzkin, the Head of the State Ecological Inspectorate Andriy Malovany, the Head of the Poltava Regional State Administration Oleh Syniehubov, and the Head of the Poltava Regional Council Oleksandr Bilenky.
What did they answer?
The Poltava Regional State Administration (RSA) was the first to respond to the request. They immediately forwarded the document to the Main Directorate of the National Police in Poltava region, and later to the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Central District, the Main Directorate of the State Geocadastre in Poltava region, and Reshetylivka City Council (response from the RSA signed by Deputy Head Yevhen Hrekov). The RSA also reminded that issuing special permits for subsoil use is the responsibility of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine, such extraction must be coordinated with local self-government bodies, which also supervise subsoil use, and that claims, damage calculations, and compensation for harm are within the responsibility of the State Ecological Inspectorate.
The Head of the Road Service in Poltava region, Ivan Krapovnytskyi, stated that the Road Service is not aware of illegal mineral extraction near the road construction site:
“1. The land plots at the coordinates specified in the information agency’s request are located outside the right-of-way of public state roads and are not in the use of the Road Service in Poltava region.
2. From the provided materials it is not possible to establish the contractor of the works.
3. The Road Service in Poltava region has no information regarding illegal or unlawful extraction and use of minerals near the road construction site and/or elsewhere.
4. Minerals are not being used in road construction.”
The most informative response came from the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Central District, signed by Chief Yevhenii Martosenko.
It turned out that the Inspectorate had been aware of one of the quarries beside H-31 near Shamraivka several weeks before receiving the NADRA.info request. But whether that quarry is legal — the Inspectorate of the Central District did not directly answer:
“02.07.2021. Inspectorate personnel conducted an inspection of land plots located near the village of Shamraivka, Poltava district, Poltava region. It was established that on land plots with cadastral numbers 5324285600:00:010:0222, 5324285600:00:010:0072 and 5324285600:00:010:0073, whose designated use is personal farming, unidentified persons are extracting minerals — raw material (clay) by quarrying using heavy truck and construction equipment. The volume of extracted raw material at the time of the inspection amounted to about 75 thousand m3.”
In order to detect and record the identified violations of environmental legislation, collect evidence and take enforcement measures against the guilty parties in the manner prescribed by law, the Inspectorate sent a letter to law enforcement agencies 06.07.2021 requesting identification of the persons and the legal grounds for developing the indicated quarry and extracting minerals, consideration of the issue of entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URPI) and initiating a pre-trial investigation. However, information about the results of the review and the decision made has not yet been received by the Inspectorate.”
The Central District Inspectorate also stated that 28-29.07.2021 they sent letters to the Poltava RSA, the Poltava Regional Council, Reshetylivka City Council, the Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Reshetylivka District Prosecutor’s Office, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Poltava region and the State Geonadra about “receiving within a short timeframe information on the business entities that are extracting minerals near the village of Shamraivka, Poltava region, measures taken by law enforcement agencies aimed at identifying the owners (users) of the specified land plots and the equipment used during mineral extraction.” Note that the cadastral numbers of the sites listed in the Central District Inspectorate’s response correspond to the clay extraction we recorded at Site 2. The Inspectorate’s response contains no mention of Site 1 (cadastral number 5321884600:00:011:0828).
The last response received was from the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Poltava region. Deputy Chief Serhii Konovalchuk stated that “Police Department No. 2 of the Poltava District Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Poltava region is conducting a pre-trial investigation in a criminal proceeding under the signs of committing a criminal offense provided for by part 1 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of possible violation of the rules of protection or use of subsoil. At present, planned investigative (search) actions are being carried out in the criminal proceedings aimed at establishing the circumstances of the commission of criminal offenses, as well as ensuring a prompt, complete, and impartial investigation.” The police did not disclose other details, because “disclosing information in the specified criminal proceeding at this time may affect the course of the ongoing pre-trial investigation.”
No responses have yet been received from the Poltava Regional Council and the State Geonadra.
What next?
Having reviewed the photographic material and the responses to our inquiries, we feel the need to clarify a number of the data we received.
Therefore we are waiting for outstanding responses, preparing new requests, not rushing to conclusions, and we call on everyone who knows of other instances of mineral extraction with signs of illegality to document them and send them to us; contact details are here.
Context
Illegal mineral extraction has become a widespread phenomenon across Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the media regularly report the most egregious facts of illegal subsoil use. All of this prompted a number of members of parliament to initiate strengthening of responsibility for subsoil poaching. As early as June 2020 a draft law No. 3576 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Strengthening Responsibility for Illegal Mineral Extraction” was registered. Its initiator, Pavlo Yakymenko (parliamentary faction of the political party “Servant of the People”), discussed the bill in an interview with NADRA.info. 15.07.2021 the bill was adopted in second reading, and 22.07.2021 sent to the President for signature.
“Just from illegal sand extraction the state budget loses tens of billions of hryvnias a year! Radical decisions were necessary. Only if we introduce criminal liability and significantly increase administrative penalties will the situation change,” Pavlo Yakymenko wrote on the day the bill was adopted in the second reading.
nadra.info
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Чиї кар’єри? Поліція шукає, хто видобуває глину поблизу траси Н-31 на Полтавщині". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.