In Arkhangelsk, a participant of a one-person picket against oil spills was reported

A report for violating coronavirus restrictions was drawn up against environmental activist Evgeny Korsak due to him attending a picket on May 21 to draw attention to the recent oil spill in the Kolva river (the Komi Republic). Sever.Realii* reports that.

The activist held a picket near the building of Arkhangelsk Oblast's government. The police approached him and drew up a report on the article on non-compliance with the rules of conduct when there might be an emergency (Part 2 of Article 20.6.1 of the Administrative Code). They motivated this by the fact that the decree of the governor of the Arkhangelsk Oblast banned pickets and other mass events due to the coronavirus infection hazard.

According to Evgeny Korsak, he wanted to draw people's attention to environmental issues with the picket’s help.

"The point of the picket was to show that oil spills happened very often. The spill in Kolva demonstrates that. And the further away, the more often they happen. This is because fuel and petroleum reservoirs wear away, loss of piping integrity occurs more frequently, and it all has a devastating effect. According to official data alone, up to 150 spills occur per year," Sever.Realii* quotes Korsak.

It became known about an oil spill at LUKOIL-Komi’s oil field on the border with the Nenets Autonomous Okrug on May 11, when a regime of emergency was imposed in the north-east of Komi. Iridescent film was found on the surface of the Kolva river near the fourth bridge. The Criminal Investigations Directorate for Arkhangelsk Oblast and NAO opened a criminal case on the fact of the oil spill. Environmentalists from the Save Pechora Committee compared the oil spill to one that happened in October 2020 and called the residents of Komi for speaking out against the "uncivilized" oil production in the republic.

By May 13, oil in the river has reached the village of Kolva, and the Head of the Komi Republic Vladimir Uyba and LUKOIL-Komi’s representative visited local residents. According to the company, almost 100 tons of petroleum products have leaked into the soil and the river as a result of the pipe leak; social activists from the Save Pechora Committee called the number underestimated. They also reported that the oil had reached the Pechora river.

By May 17, the Head of the Komi Republic has imposed a regime of emergency in the Izhma and Ust-Tsilma Districts to prevent the spread of floating oil through reservoirs. Greenpeace Russia reported that the oil slick had reached the village of Ust-Tsilma, which is located 400 km from the Pechora river’s influx into the Arctic Ocean. A day later, the Head of the Komi Republic's press relations service reported that the work on cleaning the rivers from petroleum products was almost finished.

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