Armenia introduces criminal liability for illegal use of artesian waters and whitefish fishing

YEREVAN, February 6. /ARKA/. A package of amendments and additions to the Water Code and related laws, presented to the legislators today by Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection Tigran Gabrielyan, envisages criminal liability for illegal use of artesian waters in Armenia.

According to him, the package if approved by the parliament will prevent the illegal use of underground water resources of the Ararat Valley, which is the only source of water in central Armenia.

"The package, in particular, prohibits drilling or renewal of mothballed wells. Water withdrawal in violation of the conditions stipulated by the water use permit, as well as illegal extraction of whitefish from Lake Sevan will also be considered illegal," Gabrielyan said.

The package envisages differentiated administrative punishment for illegal use of water from surface and underground water resources, as well as strengthening of administrative responsibility for reopening of closed wells without a water use permit.

Criminal liability is envisaged in cases where this activity leads to the infliction of significant damage to physical and legal persons, as well as to local communities.

Stricter measures of responsibility are envisaged for illegal catch of whitefish. Thus, catching of whitefish worth more than 150 thousand drams will be considered a major damage, which will entail criminal prosecution.

The Deputy Minister noted that the issue of illegal use of 54 wells is currently being studied. --0--