EcoLur
EcoLur received indirect confirmation about the size of “Dundee Precious Metals Kapan” Company’s fine imposed by the State Environmental Inspection of Nature Protection Ministry. Some days ago Company Director General Hrach Jabrayan spoke about the problems with premiums at the meeting with the workers and said the problems were due to the huge fine imposed by the State Environmental Inspection in the amount of one million USD.
Reminder: the State Environmental Inspection started its inspections in the company based on the alarm signals about the environmental pollution, as the press release disseminated by Nature Protection Ministry said. Nevertheless, in reply to EcoLur’s enquiry concerning the findings of the inspections and whether a fine of 360 million AMD (US $ 900,000) was factually imposed on the company, the Nature Protection Ministry refused to provide any kind of information. Its reply letter says: “You pass the desirable for reality in your publications. The whole information relating to this field is published by the Ministry on its website. You can receive any information you are interested in from our regular press releases.”
Unfortunately, neither the ministry website nor any of the press releases contain any information concerning to the damage caused by “Dundee Precious Metals Kapan” to environment and how the operation of the company may affect on the environment and human health living near the territory. There is also no information about the threats for health and environment from the breakdowns of the objects owned by other companies, for example, those of Zangezour copper and molybdenum combine. EcoLur received the same reply “The whole information relating to this field is published by the Ministry on its website. You can receive any information you are interested in from our regular press releases” concerning its enquiry about the reclaiming works carried out by GeoProMining Gold in its used galleries, which should be listed in environmental measures and when the inspections were carried out in the company. The enquiry was sent in regard with a man’s death in the mine of the company.
EcoLur thinks that the replies of Nature Protection Ministry to enquiries relating to the risks and threats for the environment, as well as human health and safety, don’t comply with the commitments undertaken by the Aarhus Convention. The Nature Protection Ministry should promote active dissemination of environmentally important information rather than to conceal it under repeating replies meaning nothing.
December 20, 2013 at 18:14