The Russian Federal Environmental, Technological, and Atomic Oversight Service (Rostekhnadzor) could launch a state expert examination of the project documentation for the offshore portion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline this mid-summer, the service said in a statement referring to its chief Konstantin Pulikovsky, Interfax reports.
"Rostekhnadzor has yet to receive the project. The Piter Gaz company is working on project materials and the assessment of the environmental impact [of the project]. According to our information, Rostekhnadzor will receive the project in mid-summer of 2008. On its part, Rostekhnadzor states that it is ready to study the documentation submitted in a due order as soon as possible," Pulikovsky is quoted as saying in the statement.
Rostekhnadzor assists the on-time implementation of the Nord Stream project to the extent of its powers, the statement says. "Rostekhnadzor will not hinder the implementation of the project when inspections, examination, and licensing activities are organized and carried out,
just as we do not hamper other projects," Pulikovsky said.
Rostekhnadzor has already carried out a state expert examination of environmental and industrial safety of the project documentation for Nord Stream's onshore portion.