Russian environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor has asked Transneft (RTS: TRNF) to consider rerouting the second line of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline away from the water supply used by the city of Khabarovsk, a source at the agency told Interfax.
A relevant letter, signed by Rosprirodnadzor's deputy head Alexei Akulov, was sent on April 8 to Transneft President Nikolai Tokarev, the source said.
The letter says that the route of the ESPO's secondd phase will run across the Amur River above Khabarovsk's water collector and within the protected water supply zone - the Tunguska subsurface water field. The first phase of a water supply system for the city is to be launched from this field in 2009, according to the letter.