Environmental remediation in Georgian law
Environmental remediation is not a separate procedural code — it is embedded in the principles of the Law on Environmental Protection and in the obligations of persons carrying on activities. This page explains which norms create the legal foundation of remediation, what the law requires during the activity, and what obligations remain at the liquidation of an object.
Principled foundations
The main legal pillar of environmental remediation is the restitution principle: an environment degraded as a result of an activity must be restored to a state as close as possible to its original condition. To this is added the polluter pays principle — the subject of an activity is obliged to compensate the damage caused to the environment — and the principles of waste minimization and recycling, which work to prevent degradation in the first place. These principles bind every natural and legal person when planning and implementing activities. The law also sets out the principle of maintaining biological diversity — activity must not cause irreversible degradation of biodiversity — together with the principles of environmental impact assessment, public participation in decision-making and accessibility of information.
Financial assurance in high-risk cases
For carrying on activities especially dangerous to the environment, financial assurance of the risk of causing damage to the environment is mandatory. The especially dangerous activities and the legal regime of such financial assurance are established by the Law of Georgia on Environmental Liability. In practical terms this means that the capacity to remediate must formally be insured or guaranteed — so that at the moment of damage the resource for restoration genuinely exists.
Obligations during the Activity and at Liquidation
The law sets general environmental requirements for the activity itself: the requirements of ecological safety and the protection of public health must be fulfilled, and environmental protection, the rational use of natural resources, environmental remediation measures and the financial means needed for their implementation must be taken into account. Remediation measures are thus mandatory not only at the level of outcome but also at the level of budgeting.
The subject of an activity is obliged to have, agreed with the relevant state bodies, operational and systematic measures for preventing and prophylaxising the consequences of technological accidents and natural catastrophes, and action plans for accidents and catastrophes; to create and keep in readiness a service equipped with technical means for accident liquidation; and to notify the relevant state bodies and the population in good time about every expected and occurred accident and catastrophe.
Environmental obligations do not end with the closing of an object: upon the partial or complete liquidation of an economic object, the subject of the activity is obliged to observe the requirements provided by this law and other requirements of Georgian legislation. This means that leaving a territory without remediation is a path impermissible by law — a closure plan must from the outset include remediation measures.