Kremlin Not Following Nornickel's Dialogue With Supervising Bodies On Norilsk Fuel Leak

Sumaira FH Published July 27, 2020 | 05:46 PM

The Kremlin is not discussing with Nornickel the dialogue the mining giant is maintaining with the regulatory authorities on the recent massive diesel leak at the company's mineral processing plant in Norilsk, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) The Kremlin is not discussing with Nornickel the dialogue the mining giant is maintaining with the regulatory authorities on the recent massive diesel leak at the company's mineral processing plant in Norilsk, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"No, they neither follow nor discuss," Peskov said, when asked whether President Vladimir Putin talked about the amount of compensation with the company's head.

The spokesman stated that this issue was within the responsibility of the designated authorities, but not the president.

"Rosprirodnadzor [the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service] is engaged in this, there is current legislation, there are current norms, various coefficients.

This is a matter for discussion by the competent authorities," Peskov added.

On May 29, some 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked out of a fuel tank at the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company's Thermal Power Plant No. 3 and seeped into a nearby river. According to Nornickel, which owns the power plant where the accident took place, the spill was caused by melting permafrost, which set the supports of the fuel tank in motion.

The emergency services have announced having localized the spill. Rosprirodnadzor has estimated the incurred damage at approximately $2 billion, for the water and soil pollution. The company said that it was contesting the amount of damage to the environment caused by the fuel spill.