The mayor of Russia's Arctic city of Norilsk has been charged with negligence over his response to a spill that dumped thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel into local waterways, investigators said Thursday.

Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that Rinat Akhmetchin had failed in his duties to contain the spill, which environmentalists say is the largest to have ever hit the Arctic.

The spill of over 21,000 tonnes of fuel took place after a reservoir collapsed on May 29 at a power plant operated by a subsidiary of metals giant Norilsk Nickel in the city.

Much of the fuel leaked into local rivers and lakes, creating red stains so big that they could be seen from space. Clean-up efforts are expected to take years and cost Norilsk Nickel nearly $150 million.

The committee, Russia's top federal investigation agency, said that after learning of the spill Akhmetchin "did not take proper measures to respond to the emergency situation and deal with its consequences."

It said he failed to organise a proper environmental response and monitoring of the spill, or to coordinate local efforts.

Akhmetchin, a 55-year-old who has headed the city government since September 2017, faces up to six months in prison if convicted.

Several staff at the plant have also been detained over the spill, which Greenpeace Russia has said is comparable to the Exxon Valdez disaster off the coast of Alaska in 1989.

apo-mm/am/lc

EXXONMOBIL

NORILSK NICKEL

Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Trump directs US to develop new Icebreaking fleet to counter Russia, China
Washington DC (Sputnik) Jun 10, 2020
NATO member states have doubled their military activity in the northern polar region over the past five years, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Ambassador at Large for Arctic Cooperation Nikolay Korchunov said on 22 May. The US government has been tasked with an inter-agency programme to develop a new fleet of icebreakers to project American national interests in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as soon as possible, President Donald Trump has announced in a memorandum. "The United States will ... read more