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Araks Mamulyan

Armenian Environment Minister Confirms Tailings Discharge Into Syunik River; Says Problem Fixed

Armenian Minister of the Environment Eric Grigoryan today confirmed reports that a discharge from the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine’s tailing dam had flowed into the Voghji River.

Grigoryan made the statement to reporters after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had earlier declared a state of emergency in Syunik Province where the plant is located.  

Grigoryan was quick to point out that the discharge wasn’t directly from the tailings dam, but rather from a faulty waste pipe that transfers the effluents many tens of kilometers from the factory in Kajaran to the tailings dam in Artzvanik.  

Grigoryan said that while there may be ongoing repairs to the pipe, such accidents occur regularly.

"Of course, the factory is to blame," Grigoryan said in response to a reporter's question, referring to Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine.

Grigoryan said Environmental and Soil Inspectorate and the Health Inspectorate staffers have taken soil

He claimed that the damaged pipe has been repaired and that no further leakage is expected.  

Grigoryan said he was concerned that current legislation isn’t severe enough when it comes to fining polluters

 “Currently we are reviewing this system. There have been accidents where the damage was assessed at 500,000 drams. The fine was paid, and the case closed,” Grigoryan said.

When a reporter asked Grigoryan if  there was a need for a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Amulsar gold mine, the minister «responded that there is data to be examined in the context of the criminal case initiated by the Investigative Committee, taking into account the analysis sent by the Ministry to the Prime Minister's Office and which has also been the subject of investigation by the Investigative Committee.

 

“There is some suggestion for modification of the project. We have presented our concerns in twelve points, the discrepancies we have found based on ELARD's conclusions and the Academy's work. For example, ELARD noted that there are problems with evaporation, and overestimation of evaporation. Hydromet also said that evaporation was three times higher,” the minister said.

Comments (1)

Tamara B.
Oh, here we go again, another environmental pollution case in Armenia... Though, I feel that this waste discharge hasn't been done on purpose: maybe the corresponding pipe was too old and corroded, or had some flaws in its structure. The main thing Zangezur Combine is to blame for here is that its administration wasn't attentive enough to take timely care of their pipes. I totally agree that 500,000 AMD is a fine way too small and insignificant compared to the damage the waste leakage caused. Still, the main point here, also made by RA Environmental Minister, is that "such accidents occur regularly". Not even talking about Amulsar (which doesn't really fit into context in this article, because it's a totally different story, but says even more about the degree of the country-wide environmental problem). Armenian businesses directly related to environment and natural resources should regularly check their facilities, review their practices and assess their possible environmental damage effects, to make sure that the accidents similar to the Voghji River one won't happen in Armenia in the future.

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