State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources receive new powers

To increase efficiency of interaction with business entities, the government has detailed where cases of administrative violations in the sphere of subsoil management can be reviewed. To do this, the Cabinet has approved annexes to Article 340 of the Code of Ukraine "On subsoil" developed by the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources (Gosgeonedr), service in the structure of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reports.

These annexes state that the central executive body which implements the state policy in the field of exploration and rational use of mineral resources, reviews its jurisdiction cases of administrative violations at the agency’s location.

Thus it becomes possible to protect the interests of the state and business entities involved in mining, depending on the location of Gosgeonedr offices.

The Staffing plan of the agency for 2013, approved by the Ukraine’s Finance Ministry, has established interregional territorial offices and sectors within the Department of the state geological control. The total number of staff is 26. Interregional territorial agencies are located in the cities of Simferopol, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Poltava and Kyiv.

Ecology Ministry experts note that annexes to the Code of Ukraine "On subsoil" are required  to implement the provisions of the Code of Ukraine "On administrative offences," which envision delegation of powers to Gosgeonedr officials to deal with disputes about administrative offenses and rights to impose administrative penalties.