The task group for the Nizhny Novgorod low-head water development project has considered the EIA assessment documents and summed up the preliminary results, Rosmorrechflot said in a press release.
At a recent joint meeting of the task team with stakeholders, including federal agencies, Volga transport sector, the Nizhny Novgorod region government, the Balakhna district administration, the general consensus was reached on most issues and solutions related to the public and experts concerns over environmental impact assessment of the proposed project “Construction of the Nizhny Novgorod low-head water development”, the press release said.
The meeting chaired by Viktor Vovk, deputy head of the Rosmorreflot was held Monday, April 22. Among the participants were: Director of the State Policy and Natural Resources Regulation Department of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources Sergey Koskin, Deputy Director of the State Policy Department for Maritime and River Transport of the Transport Ministry Irina Orinicheva, the Nizhny Novgorod regional minister of ecology and natural resources Denis Egorov, deputy head of the Balakhna district administration Lyudmila Kosareva, representatives of Rosmorrechflot, of the Volga Basin Authority, the general designer TekhTransStroy and expert institutions.
The meeting participants settled most of the environmental impact concerns following consideration of a list 45 issues related to the construction of the low-head hydraulic engineering system, of the reports of the facility designer, of research institutions, relevant federal departments. As to some of specific issues that require special calculations, taking into account the current legislation, and on those outstanding issues on which the parties failed to reach agreement, the final decision will be handed over to competent experts in the framework of the forthcoming state examination procedure.
The meeting decision will help move forward to the main goal: the development of the Russia’s Unified Deep Water System’s Volga stretch that limits safe navigation, the chairman said. He reminded of the recommendation of the RAS Scientific Council, which examined the issue of the Nizhny Novgorod water development complex on April 10, to regional and municipal authorities to develop proposals for improving the adverse environmental situation on the Volga valley stretch, regardless of the project implementation.
The next meeting of the Nizhny Novgorod low-head water development project task group and stakeholders was slated for April 29.
The construction of the Nizhny Novgorod low-head water development was aimed at ensuring smooth navigation along the Volga River is a federal project of particular importance for the country. Yevgeny Dietrich, the Russian Transport Minister has said that the solution of many strategic tasks directly depends on its successful and timely implementation, from creating basic conditions to accelerate the pace of economic development of the country and the transport connectivity of the regions, Russia's integration into the system of international transport corridors, to ensuring national defense including the possibility of full operation of the Unified Deepwater System of the Russian Federation.