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Protected Zones and Minimum Distances to Main Oil Pipelines (Petroleum Product Pipelines): The Concept, Legal Regime and Meaning for Secure Operation of Main Pipeline Transport Facilities
 
PIIS231243500025247-9-1
DOI10.18254/S231243500024480-6
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Yury A. Kapul 
Occupation: Deputy Head of the Division of Administrative Disputes and Enforcement Proceedings of the Department of Judicial Practice of Transneft, PJSC
Affiliation: PJSC Transneft
Address: Krasnogorsk, 143410, Moscow region, Krasnogorsk, Krasnogorsky boulevard, 13, building 1, apt. 89
Journal nameEnergy law forum
EditionIssue 1
Pages41-51
Abstract

A significant risk faced by oil pipeline companies in operation of main pipeline transport facilities is violation by third parties of the regime of protected zones and minimum distances to oil pipelines and petroleum product pipelines (collectively referred to as “oil pipelines”). No regulations establishing the legal regime of protected zones and minimum distance zones have been adopted yet. Absence of any regulations triggers law enforcement problems including origination of court disputes. This paper studies the main provisions on protected zones and minimum distances within the framework of their impact on the security of operation of main oil pipelines, life and health of people, analyzes concepts and regimes of the protected zone and minimum distances from the standpoint of the goal of their introduction, brings forward recommendations and proposals for minimization of legal risks.

Keywordsenergy law, legal regime of a main pipeline, restricted use zones, protected zone of a main pipeline
Received20.02.2023
Publication date31.03.2023
Number of characters33452
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1 I. Introduction
2 One of the main tasks of a company operating a hazardous production facility is assurance of security of such facility, prevention of accidents and incidents at hazardous production facilities.
3 Based on Article 17.1 of Federal Law No. 116-FZ of July 21, 1997 On Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities (the “Industrial Safety Law”), a company operating hazardous production facilities is liable for causing damage to life or health of citizens as a result of an accident or incident at a hazardous production facility.
4 Since oil pipelines are referred to hazardous production facilities, this provision is also applicable to oil pipeline companies [1].
5 An important factor of assurance of security of oil pipelines is observance of the protected zone regime, and there are also introduced minimum distances to main oil pipelines in order to protect the surrounding buildings, life and health of people.
6 In 2018, the Land Code of the Russian Federation (the “LC RF”) was supplemented with Chapter 19 Restricted Use Zones that established the goals, types and legal framework of restricted use zones (“RUZs”).
7 However, the new chapter of the LC RF has no definition of RUZs [2].
8 RUZs are defined in Clause 4 of Art. 1 of the Urban Development Code of the Russian Federation: RUZs are protected zones, sanitary protection zones, zones of preservation of cultural heritage sites (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation (“cultural heritage sites”), protected zones of cultural heritage sites, water conservation zones, flood zones, groundwater flooding zones, zones of sanitary protection of sources of drinking and municipal water supply, security zones, aerodrome adjacent territory, other zones established in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation.
9 The legal definition fails to unravel the concept through its attributes, it just lists the existing RUZ types.
10 Publications suggest a couple of RUZ definition options:
11 (1) RUZs are zones established in order to ensure security of the population against the impact of industrial, energy, radiation hazardous and nuclear hazardous facilities, nuclear material storage facilities, etc. and protection of such facilities against any man-caused impact [3].
12 (2) A RUZ is a specific territory, within the established boundaries of which there is established a special (specific) legal regime for specific purposes that primarily lies in the establishment of restrictions on the use of land plots or land plot parts [4].
13 It appears that the RUZ concept can be defined as follows based on its attributes contained in chapter 19 of the LC RF.
14 RUZs are territories (aquatic areas) with clear boundaries established according to the procedure determined by the applicable laws for the purposes of protection of life and health of citizens, ensuring safety and secure operation of facilities with special characteristics, environmental protection, ensuring defense of the country and security of the state, within the boundaries of which there exist restrictions on the use of land plots without withdrawal of such plots from their owners except for the cases established by the law.
15 Until lately, there has been no uniform terminology in the legal acts, the terms “restricted use territory”, “special territory” have been applied to different zones or a generic term has not been used at all [5]. Meanwhile, more than fifty types of various zones could be singled out in the Russian law [6]. The performed systematization of provisions on RUZs in a separate LC RF chapter is inter alia aimed at elimination of this problem.
16 Article 105 of the Law introduces two independent RUZ types:
  • protected zone of pipelines (gas pipelines, oil pipelines and petroleum product pipelines, ammonia pipelines);
  • zone of minimum distances to main or industrial pipelines (gas pipelines, oil pipelines and petroleum product pipelines, ammonia pipelines).
17 There is an opinion expressed in publications that other protected zones may be designed in respect of pipeline transport facilities in addition to the listed RUZs [7]. This idea is hard to agree with because the RUZ list established by Art. 105 of the LC RF is exhaustive [8].
18 The legal regime of each RUZ type should be governed in detail by regulations approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, in particular, there should be indicated an exhaustive list of facilities prohibited for construction and activity types prohibited in the respective zone [9].
19 As of the date of preparation of this article, the Government of the Russian Federation has not adopted any regulations on the protected zone or the minimum distance zone.
20 In accordance with the provisions of Federal Law No. 342-FZ of August 3, 2018 On Amendment of the Urban Development Code of the Russian Federation and Some Legal Acts of the Russian Federation (“Law No. 342-FZ”), the earlier approved laws on the respective RUZs remain in effect until adoption of the regulations. The transition period has been initially established until January 1, 2022, based on Part 14 of Art. 26 of Law No. 342-FZ, but then it has been extended to January 1, 2025 [10].

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