The master of the landfill on Mount Shchelba was fined for polluting nature.
The court in Novorossiysk fined the landfill master of LLC "Terra-N" Vladimir Demin for violating regulations that led to environmental pollution. This landfill received some contaminated sand after the oil spill in the Kerch Strait.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in May 2025, Rosprirodnadzor filed a lawsuit against the owner of the landfill at Mount Shchelba in Novorossiysk (LLC "Terra-N"), claiming non-compliance with environmental protection requirements in waste management. During a fire at the landfill, specialists found traces of leachate in the forest near the landfill, in the Bezymyannyy stream and the Ozerayka River. In July 2026, the court in Novorossiysk fined the landfill operator 19 million rubles.
During the cleanup of the oil spill in the Kerch Strait, the sand removed from the beaches of Anapa and the Temryuk district was sorted at the "Screening" facility, which separated heavily contaminated fractions. Less contaminated sand was sent to the landfill of LLC "Terra-N" in Novorossiysk for use as inert materials, while the most contaminated was sent to specialized enterprises "Biopotential" and "Mercury Safety" for disposal.
The Primorsky District Court of Novorossiysk announced the verdict against Vladimir Demin, guilty of handling chemicals and waste in violation of established rules, leading to environmental pollution, the Unified Press Service of the courts of the Krasnodar Territory reported today on its Telegram channel.
According to the case materials, from March 2023 to January 2024, the master of the "Terra-N" landfill, acting as the production manager, failed to ensure proper maintenance of the drainage system and timely elimination of leachate overflow.
As a result, the soil in the area of Mount Shchelba, the Bezymyannyy stream, the Ozerayka River, and the waters of the Black Sea were contaminated with petroleum products, ammonium ions, iron, arsenic, zinc, copper, cadmium, and chlorides.
It is noted that during the court session, the defendant did not admit guilt and explained that the overflows occurred due to heavy rainfall, and in his opinion, the pollution of the Ozerayka River and the Black Sea was not related to the enterprise.
Despite Demin's arguments, the court found him guilty and imposed a fine of 150,000 rubles to be paid to the state. The maximum penalty for this article is imprisonment for up to five years.
The verdict was appealed, but the Krasnodar Regional Court upheld the decision. The verdict has entered into legal force.
Residents of Novorossiysk had previously complained about the landfill. In June 2024, the landfill burned for several days, and in August, residents again complained about acrid smoke from the landfill fire. In November 2024, it became known that the landfill would be reconstructed, although it needs to be reclaimed.
By the end of 2025, two new sections for waste burial will be built at the landfill, the governor announced on August 1. Expanding the landfill will not solve the environmental problem but will only increase risks, including the risk of fires, ecologists and local residents pointed out.
The landfill in the village of Borisovka was established in 2013; it is the only legalized waste disposal facility for Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. The capacity of the facility is 160,000 tons of waste per year, but according to the territorial scheme for waste management, about 230,000 tons of waste are generated annually in Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. In fact, the landfill accepts a significantly larger volume of waste, and under such conditions, the landfill has prematurely "exhausted itself", said ecologist Yevgeny Vitishko in January.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that on October 22, 2026, by the order of the governor of Kuban, a state of heightened readiness was introduced in 10 municipalities related to the organization of waste removal. The authorities of Kuban, who declared the overflowing landfills as temporary waste storage sites, should have organized separate collection and recycling of waste and built new landfills without waiting for a crisis, ecologists pointed out.