http://natpress.net/ ru Ecology - ÍàòÏðåññ - Èíôîðìàöèîííîå àãåíòñòâî http://natpress.net/yandexlogo.gif http://natpress.net/ DataLife Engine http://natpress.net/index.php?newsid=8420 Russian officials appear to finally give up on solving Olympic Sochi’s waste problem, despite promising in initial stages of development a program of ‘zero waste’ and showcasing the Summer Games in 2014 as the green Olympics. As EWNC recently became aware, officials in Sochi’s Krasnodar region met with Russia’s natural resources and environment minister Yury Trutnev late last year (http://www.ewnc.org/files/sochi/tbo/2011-12-21_MPRE-protocol.pdf), and decided to move a controversial waste landfil to the mountains of Sochi, right near several sites of drinking water intake that feed half of the city’s population. Ecology zshoo Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:13:12 +0400 Photo of the Kamensky quarry Authorities plan to place waste landfill near Sochi’s drinking water sources Russian officials appear to finally give up on solving Olympic Sochi’s waste problem, despite promising in initial stages of development a program of ‘zero waste’ and showcasing the Summer Games in 2014 as the green Olympics. As EWNC recently became aware, officials in Sochi’s Krasnodar region met with Russia’s natural resources and environment minister Yury Trutnev late last year (http://www.ewnc.org/files/sochi/tbo/2011-12-21_MPRE-protocol.pdf), and decided to move a controversial waste landfil to the mountains of Sochi, right near several sites of drinking water intake that feed half of the city’s population. Previously, the dump was planned near Uch-Dere village, but residents staged several protests and clashed with the police last year over having to live near the waste site (http://www.ewnc.org/node/7761). According to a source in the natural resources and environment ministry, it was the Krasnodar region administration who wanted to move the dump yet again to a new location. The new location is a former quarry near the village of Galitsino, which lies near the Mzymta river in the southern part of Sochi. The Kamensky quarry has been used as a source of construction materials for the development of Olympic venues. According to the meeting’s minutes, the ministry will order to stop mining the quarry and to allocate money to turn it into a landfill. The Kamensky quarry lies in the porous limestone topography right next to two active sites of water intake. According to the Sochi city plan, this area falls into the sanitary protection zone of Mzymta river underground water reservoir. The reservoir, which stretches along the river and provides water for the majority of Sochi’s population. There is also a trout farm in this area. Sanitary norms forbid placing sources of chemical or bacterial pollution into zones of sanitary protection. However officials must have decided that calling a giant new landfill “modern environmentally safe waste polygon” will protect people from toxic waste runoff. Moreover, a decision to place such a landfill near Galitsyno village was done without any public discussion with local residents, in violation of Russian environmental regulations. The new site picked by the regional authorities is the most dangerous of other options that have been previously proposed. The possibility of polluting the Mzymta river and the groundwater reserves with toxic waste runoff is especially worrisome, because of the local karst topography and the extremely porous rock around the proposed landfill site. The decision to place the landfill in the Mzymta basin goes against the Olympic Committee’s previous pledges to protect the river and to ‘conjointly restore its ecosystem’ after massive development as recommended by UNEP experts. Suren Gazaryan, EWNC Plan with the location of the new landfill and water intake sites on the Mzymta river http://natpress.net/index.php?newsid=7332 Rest between towns Loo and Dagomys in Sochi is health hazard. Yesterday, August 25, 2011., Activists of Environmental Watch on North Caucasus inspected the landfill waste in the village of Loo in Lazarevsky district of Sochi. The inspection identified serious violations of environmental laws, threatening the health of citizens. In particular, at the time of the inspection there took place in the landfill burning of garbage, leading to air pollution. The smell of burning garbage was felt between the villages Dagomys and Loo. Ecology zara Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:24:39 +0400 Rest between towns Loo and Dagomys in Sochi is health hazard. Yesterday, August 25, 2011., Activists of Environmental Watch on North Caucasus inspected the landfill waste in the village of Loo in Lazarevsky district of Sochi. The inspection identified serious violations of environmental laws, threatening the health of citizens. In particular, at the time of the inspection there took place in the landfill burning of garbage, leading to air pollution. The smell of burning garbage was felt between the villages Dagomys and Loo. In addition, it was found that the filtrate from the dump goes to the river Bitha and then to the Black Sea. Collector carrying brown water contaminated with leachate flowing into the sea just 100 meters from the beach hotel "White Nights", which is now used extensively. There are no treatment facilities on the river there. Visual inspection showed that the contaminated water moving toward the beach village of Loo, where daily bathing several thousands of holidaymakers. Loo Beach begins at about 1 km from the confluence of the polluted river Bitha in the Black Sea. August 19 2011. Sochi hosted a meeting of so-called "public council for the preparation of the Olympic Winter Games of 2014" on "Ecology and the sea." Environmental Watch and the Sochi branch of Russian Geographic Society have applied for participation, but at the meeting of this Council, despite the fact that it was devoted to environmental issues, public representatives of environmentalists were not allowed. At a meeting of the Board of the Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, he gave a speech where he said about a major victory over the most dangerous in terms of environmental remediation on the landfills of Loo (valid until 2012.) and Adler. Inspect which was held on August 25, showed that mayor’s Sochi statement is untrue. Landfill in Loo not reclaimed and continues to serve as a source of air and water pollution in the Black Sea. At the same time the citizens, tourists are in immediate vicinity of the landfill, not warned about the possible health hazards flowing into the sea that contaminated with sewage. Environmental Watch sent a letter to the Office of the Krasnodar Territory "Rosprirodnadzor" to take action to stop the water and air pollution caused by the operation of dumps in Loo. According to the Environmental Watch, it is now advisable to refrain from recreational coastal area between the villages Dagomys and Loo, as well as from swimming at the beach village of Loo. Suren Ghazarian (Environmental Watch on North Caucasus) http://natpress.net/index.php?newsid=7304 August 16 of 2011. Environmental Watch activists explored the Black Sea coast in the vicinity of the rock Kiseleva - natural monument of the Krasnodar Territory. It was found that the stretch coast west of the cliffs, extending for several hundred meters, is under intense domestic waste pollution. Ecology admin Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:49:21 +0400 August 16 of 2011. Environmental Watch activists explored the Black Sea coast in the vicinity of the rock Kiseleva - natural monument of the Krasnodar Territory. It was found that the stretch coast west of the cliffs, extending for several hundred meters, is under intense domestic waste pollution. The source of contamination of the shoreline is the dump of Tuapse city. At the present time there is erosion of the bottom of the landfill precipitation, resulting in dumping the body which gradually slipping into the river bed, which flows into the Black Sea west of the rock Kiselyov. Moreover, the river, into which the filtrate collected from all landfills, and water falling on its surface, constantly eroding into the sea and shall have accumulated at the dump waste. Throughout the bed of the river polluted by domestic waste, which is dominated in the plastic bags and bottles. Currently, the Tuapse city dump of "Kadosh" continued storage of household and construction debris. No measures to prevent pollution of the river and the sea drains and domestic waste is taken. The results of research of the health of the beach and the sea water between the village of Agoy and the town of Tuapse, where fall runoff from landfills of Tuapse not published, there is no environmental monitoring at the site of the coast. In this regard, it is expedient to refrain from leisure swimming in the sea and the use of beaches located between the town of Tuapse and Tuapse district village of Aga. Photos and detailed description of events (Russian language) : http://gazaryan-suren.livejournal.com/25212.html