Save the Pechora Committee requests the authorities of Usinsk to transfer financial recompenses from producer companies for oil spills for solving rural problems

As it follows from the letter, currently the budget of Usinsk received more than 15 million rubles, which was remitted by the Rusvietpetro Joint Venture company, brought by Komi Rosprirodnadzor as compensation for damage caused by the company to natural complexes, primarily water resourses — the Kolva and Usa rivers.

On the shore of Kolva after oil spill. Photo provided by Yekaterina Dyachkova

"Considering the fact that it was not the residents of Usinsk who were affected by pollution of river banks, bank vegetation, pastures, but the villagers, especially the inhabitants of Kolva, Ust- Usa, Novikbozha, we consider it necessary to send funds to the budget of the urban district as compensation for damage caused by the producer companies to the full extent plied to solve the problems of the country people... Therefore we invite you to send 15 million rubles received by the budget of the rural civil defense "Usinsk" in damages from the oil spill in spring - summer of 2013 to solve the problem of water supply in Kolva," the letter says.

According to the authors of the letter, the Council of the rural civil defense "Usinsk" approved a municipal program "Sustainable development of rural areas in 2014-2016 years and the period up to 2020", according to which the planned "construction with a local plumbing in Kolva 1500 rm" and "reconstruction of local water pipe in Kolva 2530 rm."

Thus the program doesn’t include timeframes of the activity, and the amount provided for the implementation of sub-program "Social development of village" is about 48 million rubles for 3 years for all the villages, only 2 million rubles of which are to solve the problem of water supply in Kolva.

"The villagers don’t want to and can’t wait. And we understand and support them. So we offer you an immediate solution of the problem — with the use of money coming as compensation of damage," Save the Pechora Committee insists.

Moreover, activists believe that 614,820,000 rubles of damage caused by emergency oil spills of "Lukoil-Komi" to land resources, which the court ordered to reimburse to the budget of the urban district, must also be channeled for improvement of the environmental situation and the solution of social problems in villages of the urban district.

As the Save the Pechora Committee member Valentina Semyashkina told «7x7», similar appeals were sent before, for example, in 2010, when the villagers themselves appealed a letter to local authorities. In response they got the runaround reply. That’s why it is not forthcoming to put much hope upon this letter.

Viktor Ivanov, «7x7»

Original: http://7x7-journal.ru/item/37687