Improving regulation of the use of soils and subsoils dumps in the Russian Federation

Abstract

The analysis of the practice for regulating the use of dumps of soils and subsoils in the Russian Federation is carried out. It is shown that the existing regulations do not meet modern requirements for the protection and rational use of dumps of soils and subsoils. The absence of a unified recycling approach has been revealed. In some regulatory documents, dumps of soils and subsoils are considered as material for the reclamation of disturbed lands, in others – as industrial waste. Disagreement with the practice of classifying all dumps of soils and subsoils as waste of hazard classes 3–5 and subject to export to special polygons is justified. Disposal of such waste materials is administratively or criminally punishable. This approach to the material of soil excavation causes great harm to both the economy and the environment as a whole. It is proposed to change the practice of irrational use of soil and subsoil dump material and make appropriate changes to regulatory documents. One of such changes may be the introduction of the gradation “environmentally safe waste” into the documents on the definition of the hazard class of waste, with the prescription for the use of soil and subsoil dumps belonging to this category without restrictions on use in the national economy. It is proposed to clarify the magnitude of the soil thickness (soil layer) of 5 m, including the maximum depth of occurrence of fertile soil layer and potentially fertile layer. This value corresponds to the accepted stratigraphic rule on the general regularity of the structure of the sedimentary shell of the Earth. According to this point of view, soils are underlain by subsurface geological rocks, which does not imply the presence of intermediate geological layers between soils and subsurface.