Environmental documents are necessary even in places where they are not usually considered: in warehouses, car washes, construction sites, cafes, and auto repair shops. If the activity affects the air, water, or land in any way (through emissions, discharges, or waste) without environmental documentation, the business operates at its own risk. We will break down which documents are mandatory in 2026, what changes have been made to the legislation in recent years, and how to establish environmental discipline without unnecessary expenses and surprises during inspections.

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What has changed in the permitting system

The main change that many are still unaware of is that industry-specific permits for emissions of pollutants, wastewater discharges, and waste disposal are no longer issued separately. Since 2021, they have been combined into a single comprehensive environmental permit – CEP. It records the conditions of impact on the environment in one document and will be required if the enterprise has sources of emissions, discharges, or its own waste disposal sites. Special water use has remained a separate procedure: a permit is required if you take water from natural sources or discharge wastewater.

Basic set of documents

The exact list of documents depends on the industry, production capacity, equipment, and types of waste, but for most enterprises, it looks like this:

Comprehensive environmental permit – the primary document if there are emissions into the atmosphere (boiler room, painting chamber, welding posts, ventilation), wastewater discharges, or waste disposal on its own sites.

Permit for special water use if water intake exceeds 5 cubic meters per day or wastewater is discharged through its own hydraulic structures and facilities.

Environmental passport of the enterprise. It is maintained by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who operate objects of economic and other activities; since March 1, 2025, an updated form has been in effect.

Project of norms of permissible emissions – a calculation that is part of the documentation for obtaining a CEP.

Documentation on waste management – accounting for the formation, movement, and transfer of waste, arrangement of temporary storage sites.

Materials on atmospheric air protection – inventory of emission sources, calculations, and reporting on actual emissions.

Audit and design: what to check in advance

A list of documents is only half the battle. An environmental audit helps identify a company's weak points: unaccounted-for sources of emissions, errors in waste accounting, and lack of water consumption control. And when it comes to launching new production or modernization, it's best to start with design, so you won't have to redo solutions after launch and argue with regulatory authorities over outdated design solutions. For commissioning an object, a section on environmental protection is prepared as part of the project documentation.

When a single document is not enough

Business is constantly evolving: new equipment is being installed, volumes are growing, raw materials are changing, and as a result, documents quickly become outdated. This is where environmental support from specialized companies like ODO "Ekologiya Goroda" comes in: specialists conduct an initial survey, form a list of required documents, prepare applications, and assist in obtaining permits, and then help maintain journals, reports, and update documentation in a timely manner. This format is especially convenient for manufacturing enterprises, logistics centers, car services, construction sites, and food industry organizations in Gomel and throughout the Gomel region.

What happens without documents: real examples

In the Klimovichi district, on lands of the forest fund, large-scale construction, wood, metal, and polyethylene waste were discovered, and a legal entity was fined 100 basic units, approximately 4.2 thousand rubles. The situation is much more serious at OAO "Mozyrsky Oil Refinery": control revealed the operation of equipment without the project-provided gas cleaning equipment and inaccurate reporting on emissions, after which the enterprise was repeatedly denied a permit. And in the Dzerzhinsky district, for soil pollution and the destruction of 77 trees, the perpetrator was ordered to compensate for the damage in the amount of over 122 thousand rubles, which is several times more than the fine itself. According to the Code of Administrative Offenses, for violations in waste management, a legal entity faces a fine of up to 1,000 basic units, and for violating environmental safety requirements during the operation of facilities, up to 500.

The final set of risks

Fines under the Code of Administrative Offenses ranging from tens to 1,000 basic units, depending on the composition of the violation.

Prescriptions for eliminating violations, up to the shutdown of individual processes and equipment.

Refusal to issue or extend a permit, problems with coordinating project documentation, and commissioning an object.

Compensation for the damage caused to the environment, the amounts can exceed the fine amount several times.

Reputational losses in tenders, when working with large customers and foreign partners.

How to set up the work correctly

Start with a survey: specialists study technological processes, equipment, raw materials, sources of emissions, water consumption, and waste. Based on the results, a list of mandatory documents is formed - what already exists, what is outdated, what is missing. Further, documentation is developed, applications are submitted, permits are obtained, and within the company, responsible persons are appointed, journals are kept, and the validity periods of all documents are tracked.

Let's take a small example: a workshop with a painting section can formally operate without permit documentation until the first inspection. But as soon as the inspector sees the sources of emissions, calculations, standards, and CPR will be required. And if waste is accumulating on the site, accounting, an equipped temporary storage area, and contracts with organizations that will take them for disposal will be needed. For Gomel and the Gomel region, where industrial sites are adjacent to agricultural production and growing small businesses, this is especially relevant: environmental documents are not a formality, but part of the peaceful and predictable work of the enterprise.