The investigation established that during the construction of a multi-storey residential building by B.B. LLC on Shota Rustaveli Street in Tashkent’s Yakkasaray District, a section of the municipal sewer pipeline was damaged, resulting in the collapse of part of the pipe. The accumulated liquid waste was then pumped directly into the Salar Canal, which flows through the Yakkasaray District, without any form of treatment.
Specialists from the analytical laboratory of the Tashkent City Department of Ecology collected samples of the liquid waste. According to laboratory analyses conducted by the National Environmental Monitoring Center under the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, the concentration of petroleum products exceeded the permissible limit by 5.02 times, ammonium nitrogen by 43.5 times, chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 4.9 times, and suspended solids by 13.6 times.
In addition, soil samples contaminated by the liquid waste revealed residual petroleum product concentrations ranging from 2.6 to 11.4 mg/kg.
According to the Tashkent City Directorate for Canal Operation and Adjacent Area Maintenance, 63,936 cubic meters of liquid waste were illegally discharged into the Salar Canal without the required permits. These actions constitute a gross violation of Article 19 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Nature Protection”, as well as Articles 23, 117, and 153 of the Water Code. As a result, environmental compensation amounting to UZS 2,160,013,824 was assessed.
The investigation also confirmed that the damaged sewer pipeline and subsequent discharge of liquid waste caused soil contamination. Laboratory analysis showed that the average concentration of petroleum products in the soil exceeded the permissible limit by 5.2 times. This violated Article 16 of the Law “On Nature Protection” and Articles 40, 79, and 85 of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Environmental compensation of UZS 60,027,081 was assessed for the soil pollution.
As a result, the total environmental compensation to be paid by B.B. LLC amounts to UZS 2,220,040,905.