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2006 October 25   12:13

Rosprirodnadzor to extend Sakhalin-2 check

     Russian natural resource watchdog Rosprirodnadzor has applied to extend its check into Sakhalin-2 perations by a month and is preparing materials to revoke the project's water use   license,   Dmitry   Belanovich,   acting   director  of  the Rosprirodnadzor  Sakhalin  department,  said  at  a  meeting  in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk  on  Wednesday  dealing  with  the  problem  of  ensuring the environmental safety of the project.
     He   said   that  the  existing  Sakhalin-2  documentation  differs significantly from the approved feasibility study.
     Belanovich  said  that  the  check  on  the  Sakhalin-2  project in September-October   this   year uncovered  significant  violations  of environmental  legislation. In particular, there have been violations of forestry regulations: about 570 km of a pipeline passes through forests.
In addition,  the  project's  subcontracts are illegally storing soil on the territory of state forests, he said He  also  said  that subcontractors are illegally felling trees and that are  not removing the felled trees from the forest, which creates a fire hazard.   He  said  that  a  case  has  already  been  opened  over administrative violations arising from illegal forestry operations.
     In  addition,  Belanovich  said that the Rosprirodnadzor commission uncovered  multiple  violations  of water legislation, and the company's compensation  payments  to  rectify  these  may  amount to $100 million.
"Rectifying  these  violations  will not take three years, as claimed by the company, but 10 years," he said.
     According to plan, in November a commission of representatives from the Academy  of  Sciences  and Rosprirodnadzor are to evaluate the flora and fauna  in  Aniva  Bay.  According to preliminary information, damage from the  construction of an liquefied natural gas plant on the shore of
Aniva Bay amounts to 10 billion rubles.
     Belanovich  said that the operator of the project "does not want to cooperate  with the inspecting bodies and is not providing the requested documentation."  "Since  the  commission was set up we have sent over 50
requests for documents, but they were not supplied," he said.
     He  also  said  that  the  project  operator is underestimating the danger of  processes  on  Sakhalin  and ignoring the conclusions of the inspection commission.
     Natural  Resource  Minister  Yury  Trutnev said at the meeting that after visiting  one  of  the  pipelines being  built  as  part  of  the Sakhalin-2  project,  he  has  "many  questions  for the managers of the project,   construction  bodies  and  also  territorial  departments  of Rosprirodnadzor, who did not ensure timely control and oversight."

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