Izbassarov Aitzhan – PhD student of the department of the International Law. «Kazakh National University named after al-Farabi» (Kazakhstan, Almaty, al-Farabi, 71. 050038, email: aitzhan_85@mail.ru, +7-701-908-88-84).

Legal Framework for Environmental Protection of the Northern Caspian Sea in the Development of Oil and Gas Fields

There are three main areas in protection of marine environment from adverse effects of oil and gas extraction activities: regulatory, managerial and engineering/technical. The key part is played by international and national legal acts, as these define a general framework for all areas of environmental protection in marine oil and gas extraction activities.

Legal arrangements aimed at prevention and compensation of environmental and socio-economic damage caused by negative impact of marine oil and gas extraction on natural environment. Damages are prevented through the limits on pollutants discharge into sea, establishment of space or time frames for offshore petroleum operations, legal provisions regulating control and monitoring of environmental protection and engineering support for offshore oil and gas extraction operations. Compensation of damages shall be in accordance with the generally accepted "polluter pays" principle, implementation of which is, in turn, provided for through insurance of companies’ liability for marine pollution.

Restrictions imposed on offshore petroleum operations are differentiated. The basis for their establishment shall be a complete or partial prohibition on certain petroleum operations. In other cases, restrictions imposed shall commensurate with potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of oil and gas extraction on marine environment.

Determination of the above impact is the goal of environmental impact assessment (EIA), which takes into account current level of anthropogenic stress, environmental conditions and practical use of waters, where oil and gas extraction is planned. It is, in fact, a long-term environmental prediction, and therefore is the most science-based procedure of all environmental activities. Under international practices, the main factor considered in the EIA for offshore oil and gas production is fishery significance of water area, where offshore petroleum operations are planned [1, p. 94-101].

With lack of current knowledge according to the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), it is advisable to apply precautionary principle and to not use lack of scientific certainty to postpone cost-effective measures to prevent environmental deterioration. It may be taken into account that this principle is not yet a mandatory principle of international and national environmental law.

Rules of international maritime law, including those regulating protection of marine environment, do not apply to the Caspian Sea (which in fact is a lake). The Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, adopted by the Caspian boardering countries in 2003, had formally entered into force, but is hardly effective as of yet, since the establishment of its executive bodies and elaboration of specific protocols has been delayed. In this situation, the Federal legislation must be examined carefully in view of its application to regulation of oil and gas activities in the area of the Caspian Sea [2, p. 124].

One of the major factors of negative impact of petroleum activities on the environment are accidents involving hazardous flows into bodies of water and other natural objects, while especially extensive damage is caused by emergency oil spills. Accidents resulting in loss of life, damage to human health or natural environment, considerable material losses or misbalance of living conditions of people are classified as emergencies under the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

We believe that in the Republic of Kazakhstan State Environmental Expert Evaluation should be carried out regularly; on continental shelf it is carried out by a specially authorized state agency for protection of environment and natural resources; in the exclusive economic zone it is performed involving a specially authorized federal executive body for fishery; in inland sea waters and territorial sea – involving an executive agency for environmental protection [3, p. 368].

The State Environmental Expert Evaluation carried out on a government level with respect to petroleum activities on the sea is based on the fact that its objects include the following:

feasibility studies and economic activities projects, which can have an impact on the surrounding natural environment of neighboring states, or implementation of which requires the use of natural sites shared with the neighbouring states, or which affect the interests of neighboring states, defined by Convention on the Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context;

materials on establishment of mining and processing industry organizations providing for utilization of natural resources under the management of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

documents that justify Production Sharing Agreements and concession agreements, as well as other agreements with regards to utilization of natural resources under the management of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

supporting materials for licences to carry out activities able to impact natural environment, the issuance of which under the legislation of the Russian Federation is qualified as competence of federal government agencies.

According to the law, customers submitting documents subject to environmental impact assessment, shall have the right to:

receive information on the dates of environmental impact assessment affecting the interests of these customers from a specially authorized state agency in the field of environmental impact assessment that arranges for state environmental impact assessment, and;

receive for examination normative and technical, instructional and methodological documents on the conducted state environmental impact assessment from a specially authorized state agency in the field of environmental impact assessment that arranges for state environmental impact assessment;

file a request to a specially authorized state agency in the field of environmental impact assessment that arranges for state environmental impact assessment, with a demand to eliminate violations of the established state environmental impact assessment procedure;

give explanations, comments and suggestions, in writing or orally, with regard to subject of review;

contest conclusions of the state environmental impact assessment in court;

file claims for compensation of damage caused by willful violation of the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on environmental impact assessment.

Customers submitting documents subject to environmental impact assessment shall:

submit documentation for environmental impact assessment in accordance with the established requirements;

pay for the state environmental impact assessment; provide specially authorized state agencies in the field of environmental impact assessment and public organizations (associations), arranging for environmental impact assessment, with the required materials, information, calculations, additional elaborations in relation to the subjects of environmental impact assessment;

carry out projected economic and other activities in accordance with documentation for which positive state environmental impact assessment report was received;

pass the data on conclusions in the state environmental impact assessment report to banking organizations to start financing of implementation of the subject of environmental impact assessment [4, p. 115].

Thus, having analyzed all of the above facts, we conclude that the Caspian bordering countries are not giving due attention on the government level to ensure preservation of the conservation area in the northern part of the Caspian Sea.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. Elyubayev Zh.S. Challenges in ensuring local content in subsoil use contracts // Oil and gas. - 2011. - № 1. – p.p. 94-101.

2. Amanova A.A. International legal problems related to development of resources on the continental shelf of the Caspian Sea: thesis. Candidate of Juridical Science. - Almaty, 2006. – p. 124.

3. Legal environmental protection in Eastern Europe: a manual for universities / edited by V.V. Petrov. - M.: Graduate School, 1990. - p.368.

4. Mining Encyclopedia / / http://www.minig-ebc.ru.