Estimation of probability and the size of possible damage, including damage to the third parties, is one of the important stages of risk management. Especially sharply there is a problem of definition of damage to an environment as in the majority of the countries this field is rigidly adjusted by legislation. The authors of the arti-cle analyze legislative norms in the field of the control and the responsibility for environmental pollution which act on the given moment in Latvia and the European Union; consider a problem of harmonization of acts of Lat-via and EU. The authors give special attention to the Directive 2004/35/CE of the European parliament concern-ing prevention and liquidation of damage to environment, and also to the mechanism of obligatory financial guar-antees and insurance which are necessary for developing to each state-member of EU according to the Directive.