Russia’s State Duma passes a bill to increase fines to RUB 600 000 for non-compliance in coal handling

The law also provides for the suspension of business activity up to 90 days

The Russian State Duma has passed in its third final reading the bill "On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses." The bill was developed by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources on behalf of the Russian President. The bill is designed to increase the personal responsibility of stevedoring companies, which will improve the sanitary, epidemiological and environmental sustainability in ports where export coal is handled, crushed and graded. The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses will come into force on September 1, 2025, the Ministry of Natural Resources press office said.

“We proposed to introduce administrative liability for sustainability non-compliance with the instructions of the offices that carry out state environmental and sanitary and epidemiological supervision. For the primary non-compliance with the order the bill envisages a fine of 100 000 to RUB 200 000 rubles. For a repeated offense – a fine of 300,000 to 600,000 rubles or suspension of business activities for up to 90 days,” Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology was quoted as saying.

About 140 million tonnes of coal are annually exported through Russian ports. Overall, there are 60 stevedoring companies in 28 Russian ports are engaged in handling, crushing, screening / grading of coal.
At the same time, supervision agencies regularly receive complaints from the locals about coal dust, which settles in yards and on buildings. Despite the instructions of the Russian President, not all stevedoring businesses are striving to modernize their production facilities.

In 2021, Rosprirodnadzor identified 496 environmental sustainability requirements violations in the Far Eastern Federal District. As a result, almost RUB 7 million of fines were imposed. In the Southern Federal District - 135 violations, fines for more than RUB 11 million. In the Northwestern Federal District - 93 violations and more than 1 million rubles in fines.