Court orders Nornickel to cover environmental damages, CEO says the company has learned the lesson
The Court satisfied the watchdog’s claim and ordered Nornickel’s subsidiary to compensate the environmental damage as a result of the diesel fuel spill accident on 29 May 2020 at TPP-3 in the Kayerkan neighborhood of the city of Norilsk, in the amount of RUB 146.2 billion (approximately USD 1.9 billion).
Vladimir Potanin, the president of Nornickel, said in a televised interview following the announcement of the court’s ruling commented:
“This decision, above all, speaks to the seriousness with which the government takes environmental issues. It is a lesson for our company, but I think it is also a signal to the entire business community. From now on, we will be taking environmental and industrial safety issues even more seriously. Our company has learned its lesson. We are fulfilling the president's instructions to eliminate the consequences of the accident and to restore the ecosystem,” said Potanin in an interview that was aired on state TV Rossiya 24.
Nornickel plans to invest around 350 billion roubles in the environmental programmes in the nearest years, said Potanin.
“In the near future, we plan to sign an agreement with the federal and regional governments, which will provide, among other things, for additional Nornickel’s investments of more than 80 billion roubles in the social sphere,” Potanin added.
The court’s ruling on Friday seems to largely ignore the company’s efforts to promptly and fully minimize the consequences of the accident and prevent the spread of pollution.
From May to October 2020, Nornickel completed three main stages of the clean-up programme. 95 km of booms, 20 motor pumps, 245 bladder tanks were installed, 41 km of flexible piping were installed, through which more than 25,000 square meters of oil products were pumped from a temporary tank to a storage warehouse (for subsequent separation).
In the summer of 2020, Norilsk Nickel launched a land recultivation program. For the fastest and most effective response, Nornickel attracted foreign and domestic specialists and companies, actively cooperated with environmentalists, updating them on the clean-up operation.
Together with scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Norilsk Nickel organized the Great Norilsk Expedition to study the state of the environment of Taimyr, analyze the state of the permafrost in order to prevent similar accidents in the future.
From the very beginning, Nornickel promised to cover the damages and has kept its promise: the company has already spent a hefty sum on the rehabilitation of the environment and the prevention of larger damage.
Norilsk Nickel said on Friday that it is going to carefully study the judgment of the Arbitrazh Court of the Krasnoyarsk region when it gets its full text.
https://kad.arbitr.ru/Card/4490905b-aec9-472e-a30a-c384e1679527
https://krasnoyarsk.arbitr.ru/node/21390
No: А33-27273/2020
Norilsk Nickel
MMC Norilsk Nickel
+7 495 787-76-67
email us here
