Last straw. For which Lipetsk Vodokanal was ordered to pay ₽43 million

The Arbitration COURT of the Lipetsk Region satisfied the claims of Rosprirodnadzor for compensation of 43 million rubles of damage,caused by the Usman River

The damage was not compensated on a voluntary basis, in connection with which the inspectors of the Central Black Earth Interregional Department of Rosprirodnadzor filed a lawsuit against the State Unitary Enterprise Lipetskoblvodokanal. After evaluating the evidence presented, the court decided that the department's claim was justified and subject to full satisfaction. Information about this is published on the website of Rosprirodnadzor.

The basis for the lawsuit was the pollution of the Usman River by the discharge of sewage from the treatment facilities of the utility company, where the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants were exceeded. In May 2020, the inspectors calculated and presented to OGUP Lipetskoblvodokanal for voluntary payment the damage in the amount of 43.7 million rubles caused to the river. Since then, the administration of the Lipetsk region has disbanded the state enterprise into municipal organizations, and the former Usmansky Vodokanal in the association replaced the defendant.

Lawyers note that the decision made by the court is not new and original.

An analysis of water samples after local treatment facilities at the outlet of Lipetskoblvodokanal showed an excess of the concentration of various pollutants by dozens of times: ammonium ion by 64 times, anionic surfactants by 36 times, manganese by 17 times, copper by 10 times, zinc by 9 times, iron by 8 times, and as a result, a decrease in the level of oxygen in the water.

80 million cubic meters of sewage, or more than 70 cubic meters per inhabitant, is annually discharged into the rivers of the Lipetsk region, says Igor Shkradyuk, an expert at the Wildlife Conservation Center. In his opinion, high-quality equipment, the readiness of the financial system to provide support, as well as control of polluting enterprises by the state and activists will help eliminate the problem.

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Another important point in the issue of the water utility is a stable financial system that allows MUEs to receive loans. The payback period for the modernization of water utilities is from 10 years. Vodokanal is a municipal enterprise where the old equipment is almost completely depreciated, the collateral value is very low, which influences the decisions on granting loans. Local budgets cannot finance the purchase of treatment equipment, nor can they issue loan guarantees accepted by banks. And help from higher authorities may be accompanied by “kickbacks”, which will make modernization more expensive and less effective.

In cases where there is nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, metals, and oil products in the water, it is more difficult to solve the problem in comparison with monosyllabic pollution. According to the expert, large industrial and agricultural enterprises should clean their own wastewater from specific contaminants before they are discharged into the public sewer. Strict state control over the state of the environment, which, in turn, is preceded by public outcry, is called upon to increase the responsibility of companies. Penalties for environmental violations must be unavoidable.

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