According to the press service of "Greenpeace Russia", the project aims to draw attention to the problems of the Russian legislation, which allows to spill oil with impunity.
"Oil Patrol", organized by Greenpeace Russia and the Save the Pechora Committee NGO, begins its activity on August 11. 45 experts and volunteers from 10 countries will patrol the Usinsk district of the Komi Republic in search of oil leaks. Also, they will try to remove one of the spills themselves to show that it is much easier to prevent accidents than to deal with their consequences.
“Unfortunately, today, it is profitable to spill oil in Russia. Fines are scanty, and the legislation is full of gaps, so it is easier for companies to spill up to 5 million tons of oil a year instead of replacing the rusty pipes. We analyzed the problems of legislation and prepared detailed recommendations for dealing with them,” the head of the energy program Greenpeace Russia Vladimir Chuprov said.
According to the expert, in several decades the oil industry has strangled life of the indigenous population of Komi. “But this is just a typical example of how the "modern" oil production works in Russia. Those rusty pipes, oil bogs and dead forests can be seen in the Tomsk region, the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, the Khanty-Mansijsk Autonomous District and other regions,” Chuprov said.
As explained by Greenpeace Russia, anyone can join the cleaning of oil, pre-contacting and discussing the details with the organizers of the camp. Activists are ready to provide contacts of local residents who can tell you the details of their lives "in the neighbor of oil spills". Also, environmentalists themselves intend to collect a large photo and video content for the report on the cleaning of oil.
Recommendations for improving the legislation are collected in the report of Greenpeace Russia and Save the Pechora Committee "Oil pollution: problems and possible solutions".
Within the patrol Greenpeace will held a round table in Usinsk, where will discuss the report with the oil companies and the relevant government departments, and then together with the received comments will send it to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Government of the Russian Federation.
It is not the first time when Greenpeace activists are engaged in the oil cleaning. They participated in the coastal cleanup after the accident in the Kerch Strait in 2007, and conducted the cleaning camp near Surgut in Siberia in 2000.
More information:
The report of Greenpeace Russia and Save the Pechora Committee "Oil pollution: problems and possible solutions".
http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/ru/press/reports/Pochemu_v_Rossii_razlivat_neft_vygodno/
Maxim Polyakov, «7x7»
