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Environmentalists score in Russia On Chernobyl anniversary Putin calls for Siberian oil pipeline to be moved 25 miles north of lake, world’s largest body of fresh water
Russian President Vladimir Putin called April 26 for a planned Siberian oil pipeline to be moved further from Lake Baikal, the world’s largest body of fresh water.
“I already said further north. Where further north it doesn’t matter,” Putin told the chief of the state-run pipeline monopoly Transneft, Semyon Vainshtok, during a meeting to discuss Siberia’s development with regional governors.
Putin said that the route should be moved more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the lake, the Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies reported. That distance, which would put the pipeline beyond Baikal’s drainage area, had been proposed by the deputy head of Russia’s Academy of Sciences.
Putin, following a presentation by the scientist, said: “The pipeline must go further north than has been indicated.”
Line will move crude to Pacific coast The 1.6 million-barrel-a-day pipeline is to run from Siberia’s Irkutsk region to a town in the Amur region on the Chinese border. Crude eventually will be piped to Russia’s Pacific coast, with a spur southward to China.
Environmentalists say the pipeline, which according to current plans is to pass less than a kilometer (half-mile) from Baikal, could ruin the lake’s unique ecology in the event of a spill. The pipeline’s planners have said that changing the route would entail great expense, and they claim that minimal damage would be caused by a spill.
Vainshtok reiterated April 26 his position that “170 kilograms of crude oil is the maximum that could reach Baikal if something unbelievable happened.”
Lake more than 5,300 feet deep Reaching more than 5,300 feet (1,620 meters) at its deepest point, Lake Baikal contains one-fifth of the world’s fresh water and up to 1,500 unique species of plants and animals.
Environmentalists say that the regulatory agencies responsible for vetting the planned route manipulated the review process in Transneft’s favor.
Greenpeace Russia spokesman Yevgeny Usov called Putin’s decision “wonderful.”
“We are very glad that the authorities have finally decided to listen to the opinion of the public, scientists and experts,” Usov told The Associated Press.
But he expressed hope that Putin would take the “principled” position of ordering that the pipeline be built where it would do the least damage, not sticking to any specific distance from the lake. Baikal’s drainage area does not run evenly around the lake, and Usov said that it could be even more environmentally risky to choose a route that runs through the mountains.
Putin chose the 20th anniversary of one of the world’s greatest environmental catastrophes, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, to make his ruling following months of small protests in defense of Lake Baikal.
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