A legal battle with significant environmental implications is unfolding in Russia’s Far East, as the state-owned seaports enterprise, Rosmorport, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The suit, lodged with a regional court, addresses the multi-year discharge of untreated stormwater into the ecologically vital Avacha Bay, a major natural harbor on the Pacific Ocean. The pollution issue has reportedly persisted since 2018.
The core of the dispute lies in a bureaucratic anomaly. A critical section of the stormwater drainage system is officially “ownerless.” According to case materials, this infrastructure was never formally transferred to municipal ownership after its construction. As a result, it is not listed in the municipal property registry, has no designated organization responsible for its upkeep, and lacks the necessary permits for water discharge, leaving it unmaintained and unregulated.
The environmental damage was confirmed by an official inspection in June 2023 by Russia’s federal environmental watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor. Agency specialists recorded pollutant concentrations in the discharge area that exceeded legally permissible levels, constituting a clear violation of the Russian Federation’s environmental protection laws and providing concrete evidence for the lawsuit.
In its claim, Rosmorport is demanding decisive action from the city administration. The enterprise insists the court compel the city to install necessary treatment systems, such as filters and sand traps, to purify the stormwater before it enters the bay. Furthermore, the suit demands that city authorities complete all required legal paperwork to legitimize the water discharge system. To enforce compliance, Rosmorport has also requested the court to impose a daily penalty of 5,000 rubles for every day the court’s decision remains unfulfilled.
The court has accepted the lawsuit, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 2, 2025. Should the court rule in favor of Rosmorport, the municipal administration will be given a three-month deadline to rectify the long-standing violations and put an end to the unchecked pollution of one of the region’s most important strategic waterways.