Field and desk research of the Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the territory of the planned construction of the solid municipal waste landfill (ecotechnopark ‘Shiess’, the area of the railway station Shiess in the Arkhangelsk region) revealed limitations and possible potential risks in case of the project implementation. The soil and vegetation cover was characterised, and the chemical composition of surface water in the area (high content of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) was determined, which is related to the specific features of water supply in the rivers of the region. Thematic mapping of the work sites based on modern and archive satellite imagery demonstrates the ratio of areas of dominant landscape complexes and vegetation cover classes. A model of potential atmospheric circulation and pollution transfer was compiled for the planned source of atmospheric emission. The identified constraints are primarily related to overwatering (waterlogging) of the area, dominance of old-growth spruce stands, presence of intact forest indicator species, often including rare species of plants, lichens and animals. Four lichen species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (2008) were found on the construction site, and representatives of 15 species of rare and protected animals were observed. A preliminary calculation of environmental damage from the loss of ecosystem services has shown it to be significantly higher than the estimated economic benefits from the planned construction of the landfill