Regarding the need to take into account emissions from generators

It should be noted right away that all of the following applies exclusively to business entities, namely: enterprises, organizations, institutions and individual entrepreneurs and in no way refers to the use of generators by individuals for their own needs.

According to Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Atmospheric Air", any economic activity accompanied by emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air by stationary sources can be carried out only on the basis of an emission permit.

The current legislation does not contain any limits and/or threshold values in relation to the amount of emissions into the atmosphere by stationary sources, which could serve as criteria for (absence of) the need to obtain an emission permit. Accordingly, any emission from stationary sources regardless of volume, volume or capacity must be included in the emission permit.

Therefore, the use of generators with internal combustion engines (gasoline or diesel) is not possible in a legal way without obtaining a permit for emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air by stationary sources, despite any of the reasons: "not powerful", "portable", "mobile", "eco-tax included in the cost of fuel" etc.

of course, nowadays it is difficult to predict the need for a generator in the future, so a logical question arises whether it is time to get involved in unnecessary administrative and bureaucratic procedures. Whatever the decision, it is necessary to decide on the scenario of behavior as soon as possible in order to be consistent and not to harm yourself with your own actions now or in the future, because the first bell, namely - the reporting period for the calculation of the environmental tax - is coming soon.

If the issue of the generator is simply "ignored", then as of today, zero fuel consumption is almost the only reason for avoiding violations of the law. At least, according to its purchase/write-off in accounting. If this lack of consumption remains in the future - in this case, there is an opportunity to avoid all formalities and complications in the form of paying the eco-tax, developing project documentation for obtaining/correcting emission permits, submitting reports, etc.

However, if there are intentions to operate the generator in a legal way, there is a purchase/write-off of fuel, and even more so if you plan to keep the generator (for the purpose of operation) in the future, then three questions immediately arise:
1) What if the generator needs to be used now, but there is no emission permit for it yet?
2) How to pay the environmental tax, if emissions calculations have not yet been carried out by a specialized organization?
3) How and when can you get a permit for emissions under the current martial law conditions?

In short, three steps must be taken to solve all these issues.

Step 1. Submit a declaration for an emission permit
Step 2. Calculate emissions to calculate the amount of eco-tax
Step 3. Start the procedure for obtaining a permit for emissions.

Now about all this in more detail.

Step 1. Submission of the declaration.

In accordance with CMU Resolution No. 314 of March 18, 2022, during the period of martial law, the implementation of certain types of economic activities, including of emissions into the atmosphere on the basis of the submitted declaration for making changes to the current or obtaining a new permit for emissions.

Thus, the submitted and properly registered declaration gives the legal right to carry out emissions into the atmosphere for which there is no emission permit, until the necessary changes are made in the permit documents. Thus, the declaration does not exempt from the need to make changes or obtain a new permit for emissions, but gives the right to carry out emissions into the atmosphere before obtaining it in the manner prescribed by law.

The declaration can be submitted in paper form to the Ministry of Economy (recommended) or electronically through the Diya portal. The declaration does not contain requirements for describing the reasons for its submission, so it does not oblige to inform about the subject of changes that are planned to be made to the permit documentation. Ask for more detailed information (instructions) if necessary.

Step 2. Payment of eco-tax.

In accordance with Article 249.3 of the Tax Code, the amount of tax paid for the emission of polluting substances into the atmosphere by stationary sources of pollution is calculated by taxpayers independently every quarter based on the actual volumes of emissions and tax rates.
The actual volumes of emissions are calculated in accordance with the current methods of calculating emissions and/or on the basis of instrumental and laboratory measurements of emissions. Usually, the calculation methods are given in the emission inventory reports, and in their absence, they can be part of the project documentation (EIA, EIA), but what if these documents are not available? There is no other way out than to calculate it yourself or contact a specialized organization for help.

The main thing in this matter is to choose the right calculation method, because the emissions from the generator are generated from the combustion of fuel in internal combustion engines, but this is not a means of transport - that is why the indicators of emissions from motor vehicles are not suitable for this. On the other hand, the most widespread method of fuel combustion (Compendium of emission indicators, VOLUME I, Donetsk, 2004) does not contain emission factors for all fuels and substances formed as a result of the combustion of gasoline and DP in internal combustion engines. Therefore, in our opinion, the most successful method for these purposes is the 2019 EMEP/EAOS Emissions Inventory Guidelines. A typical sample calculation will be provided separately.

Step 3. Obtaining permission.

In accordance with the Resolution of the CMU No. 314 of March 18, 2022, in the case of acquiring the right to conduct economic activity on the basis of a declaration, it is necessary to immediately, but no later than three months after the termination of martial law, apply to the relevant permitting authorities and obtain the relevant permit documents in the order, terms and under the conditions stipulated by law.

However, it is necessary to understand that the emission permit is issued for stationary sources, i.e., those that retain their spatial coordinates during the period of validity of the emission permit. Therefore, in practice, it is possible to begin the development of design documentation only when there is confidence that the generator will not change its location from that provided by the design documentation and/or emission permit. In the opposite case, the consequence may be the need to adjust the project documentation and emission permit, which in terms of the amount of costs may be equivalent to obtaining a permit.

It is also worth taking into account that according to the legislation during the period of martial law, there are no deadlines for the provision of administrative services for permitting authorities - so obtaining a permit can be delayed indefinitely on legal grounds, in addition, the development of project documentation can also take longer than expected due to objective reasons.

Separately, it is necessary to emphasize that the last stage is no less important than the previous two, and its non-fulfillment or untimely fulfillment will nullify all previous steps and will only be an unnecessary confirmation of a violation of the law with all the unpleasant consequences in the form of charging damages for environmental damage for excessive emission due to the lack of a permit on emissions.

It should be noted that the generator, in addition to being a source of emissions of polluting substances, is also a source of noise and, often, at a fairly significant level, so it is recommended to plan its placement in such a way that noise and emissions from it do not have an excessive impact on residential buildings and objects equated to it (medical, educational, preschool, sports, recreational, institutions, etc.). Despite the fact that there is a moratorium on inspections by the environmental inspection during martial law, complaints from the public may well be the reason for an unscheduled inspection.

And finally - as of today, there are intentions on the part of the expert community to facilitate or, in general, eliminate the formal procedures for legalizing the use of generators in terms of environmental legislation - so it is quite possible that in the near future there will be changes that will partially or completely change the above provisions, but when, how and whether it will happen at all is still unknown.