The Federal Law regulates relations pertaining to informing citizens and organisations about the condition of the environment.
Under the Federal Law, the following information is recognised as information on the condition of the environment (ecological information) regardless of the form of presentation: information on the retrospective, current and forecast condition of the environment, pollution levels, ongoing processes and phenomena in the environment, the impact of current and planned economic and other activities, and current and scheduled environmental protection measures.
It is established that ecological information shall be accessible to the public. Access to it shall not be limited unless it is qualified as a state secret by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
The above information shall be presented by federal, regional and municipal government bodies, as a rule, gratis to legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, public associations and non-profit organisations.
Under the Federal Law, federal, regional, and municipal executive government bodies, or organisations authorised by them, that possess environmental information, shall publish it openly in accordance with the rules established by the Government of the Russian Federation on official websites on the internet information and communication network or via government and municipal information systems. This concerns, in particular, information on the condition and pollution of the environment, radiation, point sources, the level and amount of emissions, the dumping of pollutants, the disposal of industrial and household waste and measures on reducing the adverse impact on the environment.