Analytical materials, reports, speeches

“On work results of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2011 and tasks for 2012”
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan

Artem Georgievich Sidorov,

Kazan, February 2, 2012

In the reporting year, the Ministry’s activity was aimed at solution of priority tasks specified for the environment-oriented complex of the republic, including:
ensuring the constitutional right of Tatarstan citizens to favorable environment;
close interaction and meaningful dialogue with industrial enterprises and municipal establishments in relation to work on decreasing man-caused impact on the republic’s territory;
implementation of a number of measures to promote environmental safety in the course of arrangement and holding of the World Summer Student Games 2013;
increasing environmental awareness of the population, active engagement of public associations and youth in the solution of environmental problems;
enhancement of efficiency of investment activities in the sphere of environmental protection.
At present, Tatarstan deals with several principal environmental issues. Annual decrease of man-caused impact on the atmospheric air, water bodies and land resources is ensured through joint efforts of the state environmental agencies, industrial enterprises, and local authorities.
Moreover, while social issues are solved and environmental awareness of the population improves, people become concerned with the quality of environmental conditions on specific territories and in specific settlements.
Such a conclusion is supported by the results of sociological studies carried out by the Centre for Economic and Social Studies of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan. According to these results, each forth citizen in the republic considers solution of environmental problems one of the main public priorities (The “Environmental condition improvement” issue is included into the Register of public priorities for the year 2011 approved of by decree No. 326 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan as of 22.04.2011).
In connection herewith, the work of the Ministry and its territorial departments focused, in particular, on solution of the issues regarded by the citizens of the republic in the reporting year as the most urgent. Over 2 thousand 800 written requests of citizens received through the Internet, 1200 questions raised during personal receptions of citizens, as well as five public-opinion polls of over 3 thousand 500 persons carried out on the Ministry’s website were analyzed.
The population of the republic identified the following environmental issues as the most burning:
1. Lack of orderly collection and disposal of domestic and construction waste, especially in city settlements and remote settlements of some municipal districts, and, therefore, inevitable formation of unauthorized landfill sites.
2. Pollution of the atmospheric air by motor transport and certain enterprises.
3. Fertile land layer destruction.
The ministry responded quickly to each request lodged by the citizens.
(Administrative action was brought against 985 legal entities, official entities and individuals on whom penalties in the amount of 6 million 437 thousand rubles were imposed for the infringement of waste handling requirements.
Administrative action was brought against 936 legal entities, official entities and individuals on whom penalties in the amount of 1 million 189 thousand rubles were imposed for the infringement of atmospheric air protection requirements.
Administrative action was brought against 735 legal entities, official entities and individuals on whom penalties in the amount of 2 million 556 thousand rubles were imposed for the infringement of land resources protection requirements).
In each case administrative action was brought against guilty persons, and infringements were eliminated.
Being the Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission for Ecological Safety, I cannot but mention close and constructive interaction with local authorities in relation to the improvement of sanitary and environmental state of the republic’s territory. At the same time, I must admit that the level of performance does not yet correspond with the urgency of existing issues.
First of all, this touches upon our capital, the historical center and suburban areas. In connection herewith, I would like to appeal to the heads of municipal districts to pay careful attention to the elimination of problems causing dissatisfaction of the population of the republic, to apply supervisory powers of administrative commissions to a larger extent, and to form effective patterns for sanitary purification of territories. This work becomes even more urgent as we approach the 2013 Universiade (World Summer Student Games).
A hands-on solution to the problems in this sphere should be an integral part of the municipal environmental programs developed during the reporting year that stipulate cooperation between the Ministry and all municipal and urban districts of the republic. As of 2012, municipal establishments of the republic have received financial support to perform this task at the expense of targeted use of funds paid to the local budgets on account of 40% payment for the negative impact on the environment.
As a whole, I believe that since it is of vital importance to meet interests of the population of the republic, there is an urgent need to consider the draft republican program on handling production and consumption waste developed by the Ministry of Construction and Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan at Presidium meeting of the Council of Municipal Establishments of the Republic of Tatarstan. Today, we have positive experience in the organization of effective work on waste handling in Almetyevsk District, Saby District, Sarmanovo District, Nurlat District and in some other municipal districts. There are also interesting intermunicipal investment projects which, unfortunately, haven’t been implemented yet, along with existing effective programs of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Nizhny Novgorod region).
Dear Minsagit Zakirovich, I hope you support this initiative of the Ministry.
In the message to the State Council, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov outlined ecologization of the whole industrial sphere as one of the primary short-term tasks.
During the reporting year, the leading industrial enterprises of the republic (TATNEFT OJSC, TANECO OJSC, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Kazanorgsintez, TAIF-NK etc.) made a great contribution to the solution of the main environmental issues on account of modernization of industrial equipment and basic technological processes. Significant work has been done regarding decrease of man-caused impact on the environment, reduction of water and air pollutants.
Last year, 186 largest industrial enterprises of the republic elaborated and approved of various environmental safety programs in cooperation with the Ministry. Specific actions on further ecologization of production processes through introduction of the best available technologies (BAT) are included therein.
TANECO, OJSC, gives a striking example of introduction of the best available technologies. Considering that oil refining is a source of considerable impact on the environment, unprecedented environmental safety promotion has become the major success in the course of construction of TANECO plants.
Being unique for the domestic branch, 61% building density of the territory was achieved at the expense of progressive technical solutions allowing to save more than 100 hectares of the land.
Over 2 million trees were planted by way of compensation.
Although the area occupied by waste treatment facilities of the enterprise is 8 times smaller as compared to the traditional arrangement, such facilities ensure return of up to 80% of purified water into the manufacturing process and have practically no analogues in Europe.
As for the atmospheric air protection, the company managed to perform a task set by the governing bodies of the republic on keeping the amount of released pollutants to a minimum:
The estimated capacity of a network of plants envisages no more than 9.6 thousand tons of released pollutants, while initial rated volume of emissions constituted 18 thousand tons.
However, the process of production modernization may take longer than it is planned if no statutory system-based economic stimuli induce enterprises to diligently perform the task. The meeting that took place with the participation of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan on site of “Kazankompressormash” clearly demonstrated concern of the heads of industrial enterprises in the republic about the lack of corresponding legislative norms.
In connection herewith, dear Murad Kerimovich and Fatikh Sawbanovich, considering you are a member of the State Duma Committee for Ecology, could you, please, render assistance in accelerating the adoption of the Federal Law “On improving the system of rating and economic incentives in the field of environmental protection” by the State Duma?
At present, our work presupposes extensive application of the principle of constructive interaction with an individual enterprise or with the whole industrial complex in solution of current environmental problems. The main objective of such an approach is not only and not just administrative penalty. It is about rendering assistance to an enterprise which tends to provide for the environmental safety of its production, but therefore faces certain technical and technological difficulties.
The reasonability of this approach is supported by the results of activity of the Interdepartmental working group on handling the problems related to the environmental safety in the zone of influence of Nizhnekamsk industrial hub. Significant work of the Interdepartmental group, which includes representatives of state environmental authorities, heads of leading enterprises and local authorities, allowed to create a long-term targeted program “Environmental protection of Nizhnekamsk and Nizhnekamsk Municipal District for 2011-2015”, which presupposes funding of environmental improvement activities whereby the enterprises of the industrial hub alone are expected to appropriate 14 billion 148 million rubles.
In general, I would like to mention that everything our industrial enterprises do for the environmental improvement should be clear and available to the population of the republic. This task is of primary importance to us.
While creating this program, we agreed and started to form a unified territorial system of the atmosphere state monitoring. Enterprises acquire automated control stations (4 were purchased by Nizhnekamskneftekhim, 1 by TAIF-NK, 1 by Nizhnekamskshina, 1 fixed and 1 portable were purchased by TANECO, OJSC), which are integrated into the unified monitoring network together with the existing stations of the Ministry (2 automated and 1 portable).
In connection herewith, we believe that it is high time we created a joint situation centre of the state environmental monitoring together with the Administration of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of the Republic of Tatarstan and located it on site of the Ministry of Ecology.
Positive examples of joint work can be cited in the capital of the republic as well. “Kazanorgsintez”. The project on flare gases disposal has been implemented recently at the enterprise, and large modernization of waste treatment facilities is carried out at present. The system of microfiltration (membrane filters) produced by PALL has been installed, and it is used in industrial test module.
This program is aimed at achieving maximum efficiency of sewage water treatment and recycling in order to decrease the volumes of water extraction from Kuybyshev Reservoir.
At present, we extensively cooperate with technological and environmental agencies of “Nefis Cosmetics”, JSC, which undertakes to discontinue emissions of specific substances with unpleasant smell into the atmosphere by the end of 2012. As a result of our work, Kazan Synthetic Rubber Plant named after S. M. Kirov stopped dumping unpurified stormwater runoffs into Sredniy Kaban Lake.
At the same time, there are still enough economic entities in the republic that do not consider the environmental legislation requirements binding and thus do not take effective measures to ensure environmental safety of their production processes. The Ministry takes and will proceed to take strict enforcement measures stipulated by the legislation with regard to such users of natural resources.
(5458 inspections were carried out by state inspectors of the Ministry at 2407 enterprises in 2011. 4987 violations were revealed, 4069 protocols were drawn up, penalties in the amount of over 22 million 200 thousand rubles were imposed.
As compared to 2010, improvement of the state ecological control is ensured with regard to the following main criteria:
The number of conducted inspections increased by 2.7%;
The number of inspected entities increased by 40.8%;
The number of drawn up protocols increased by 2.5%;
The amount of imposed penalties increased by 20.3%).
As for certain enterprises, which committed major violations of air protection legislation and waste legislation, we had to suspend their activity by judicial procedure in cooperation with federal environment-oriented agencies and with the assistance of the public prosecutor's office.
I would like to emphasize that the environmental inspection requirements will continue to increase as we approach the World Summer Student Games 2013. It relates both to the excessive impact on the atmospheric air and water bodies, and to unregulated handling of domestic and construction waste.
Today, special attention is paid to making arrangements for the 27th World Summer Student Games 2013. Our Ministry does not remain uninvolved.
In the reporting year, the draft copy of the “Concept for environmental protection during the period of arranging and holding the World Student Games” was completed and submitted for approval to the federal authorities along with the Environmental protection plan.
Currently, the measures suggested by the republic are supported; their funding is planned by the federal entities within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, namely the Federal Agency for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring and the Federal Agency for Water Resources.
The funding issue should be solved as soon as possible with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation. Counting on assistance of the federal authorities, we are to take this issue seriously and to work on it together with the Ministry of Construction, Architecture and Housing.
The republic on its part started to perform obligations undertaken by it related to the participation in the implementation of this program. The most important event of the program is the recultivation of Samosyrovo dump.
(monitoring of surface waters of Sredniy Kaban lake;
development of cumulated volume of MPE in Kazan;
improvement of the coastal zone of Sredniy Kaban lake;
works on the recultivation of Samosyrovo dump)
In connection herewith, dear Murad Kerimovich, we reckon greatly upon support on the part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation with regard to the recultivation of Samosyrovo dump within the framework of the program “Environmental safety of Russia (for 2012-2020)”.
The implementation of projects planned in this sphere allows to improve the environmental situation significantly, to increase and bring the level of aesthetic and recreational component of our city to the indicators of the best cities of Russia and Europe as the status of Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan as well as the status of the World Summer Student Games 2013 requires.
The Ministry pays much attention to the development of the public youth environmental movement.
In the reporting year, we started to develop the Concept of the Environmental Movement Development of the Republic of Tatarstan together with the Social Youth Chamber under the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan for the period up to 2015. The main trends of the mass environmental movement development, environmental thinking formation, creation of conditions for the effective work of environmental social organizations, youth initiative groups will be reflected in it.
The project of the youth social monitoring of water bodies is implemented together with representatives of social youth associations of the republic, Social Youth Chamber under the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan. Young ecologists took part in Kuybyshev Reservoir coastal strip investigation, as well as in the detection and liquidation of unauthorized waste disposals in water conservation zones of water bodies, waters quality monitoring of the rivers Kazanka, Noksa and Mesha. Young people got acquainted with methods of sampling and laboratory analysis of samples of Kuybyshev Reservoir waters.
Last year, we organized and coordinated a number of republican mass environmental events engaging non-commercial organizations of the republic.
(Regional department of the Centre for Environmental Politics and Culture of Russia;
Regional department “Children’s Social Organization “Green Planet””;
Republican social movement “Tatarstan-Novy Vek”(New Age);
Social organization “Council of Children Organizations of the Republic of Tatarstan and so on).
Year after year, citizens of Tatarstan are taking a more active part in international nature conservation campaigns initiated by the Ministry, e.g. the Earth Hour campaign and Car-Free campaigns, symbolizing the solidarity of the population in solution of the problems related to energy and resources saving and improvement of the environmental situation.
About ten thousand pupils and teachers in all municipal establishments of the republic took part in such environmental and educational campaigns as the Lesson in Cleanliness campaign and the Single Environmental Lesson campaign carried out by the Ministry’s employees in 2011.
Taking into account positive comments of pupils and teachers of general secondary schools, as well as growing activity of participation in these campaigns we are planning to carry out similar environmental lessons together with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan quarterly in 2012.
The most impressive project in relation to ideas and trends as well as unprecedented one with regard to the quantity of participants was the interdepartmental environmental project “Let Us Be People!” implemented by us in cooperation with the Republican Agency of Press and Mass Communications “Tatmedia”, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan, Civil Status Division of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Ministry of Forestry to which I would like to express sincere gratitude.
A large number of nature conservation campaigns different in form and content were carried out as part of the project. They gave us a real idea about resolution and readiness of a great quantity of people of different occupations, ages and political views to unite their forces in order to solve environmental problems, to take an active part in definite nature conservation activities.
(Within the frames of project implementation:
21 layouts for outdoor advertising and printing were developed in the Tatar and Russian languages;
Environmental advertising was placed in 150 billboards in Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Almetyevsk, Nizhnekamsk, Zelenodolsk, as well as in municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan;
An environmental-oriented ad run-of page was placed in republican, regional and municipal mass media for 242 times;
The press conference dedicated to the environmental project implementation was held on August 4 with the participation of the Administration of the Republican Agency of Press and Mass Communications “Tatmedia”, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan, TATMEDIA JSC, Tatarstan magazine.
The following nature conservation campaigns were carried out in August (including campaigns that engaged social environmental organizations of the republic):
August 4 – sanitary purification of the coastal zone of Lebyazhye Lake;
August 6 – “Don’t be a pig” flashmob in Victory Park in Kazan;
August 10 – environmental campaign within the territory of Lebyazhye city park;
August 12 – purification of the coastal zone of Kazanka river in the area of Gavrilov Street in Novo-Savinovsky district of Kazan;
August 13 – environmental campaign in Fuchs public garden in Kazan; campaign “Star cleaning” in Zelyony Bor of Laishevo district of the Republic of Tatarstan;
August 21– purification campaign of the shore territory of Izumrudnoye Lake in Yudino settlement;
August 27 – sanitary purification campaign of the territory of the Newly Weds Park in Kazan;
October 8, 2011 – “Plant a Tree” campaign in the Newly Weds Park in Kazan. 43 newly wedded couples registered on that day, people who participated in the park cleaning in August, All-Russian Public Organization “Centre of Environmental Politics and Culture”, students of Kazan State Architectural University and Kazan Federal University, and Mass Media took part in the campaign.
The implementation of this project was covered by in republican, regional and municipal mass media. 18 original stories on such television and radio broadcasting companies as Television Radio Company “Novy Vek”, State Television Radio Company “Tatarstan”, Television Radio Company “Kazan”, Television Company “Efir”, KZN “Kazan” were broadcasted within the project implementation. 122 materials were published in information agencies and Internet editions, 64 materials – in republican printed mass media and 242 advertisements.
In connection herewith, I would like to express enormous gratitude to all media agencies, journalists, correspondents, camera operators and television anchormen who took part in project campaigns and their coverage. This is not a one-time campaign and we will continue working in this direction for sure. In future, we should do everything to persuade young people of the republic that it is fashionable to be ecologists.
Financial support of environment-oriented events is important in the solution of environmental protection issues. Quality elaboration of design and estimate documentation and supporting materials, personal support of the Head of Lower-Volga basin water management board Anatoly Aleksandrovich Bykov as well as close cooperation with the “Sredvolgovodkhoz” Administration allowed us to multiply investment amounts raised from the federal budget funds in the reporting period.
With the support of federal environmental agencies and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, the limits of budget means drawn by the Ministry for the implementation of environment-oriented events amounted to 620.8 million rubles in 2011, the volume increased by more than thrice (the volumes of environment-oriented events disbursement amounted to 212.0 million rubles in 2009, in 2010 – 185.3 million rubles, respectively).
We were able to raise additional federal funds not drawn by other entities of the Russian Federation in the amount of 13.8 million rubles due to active cooperation with the Federal Agency of Water Resources.
Apart from the World Summer Student Games, the estimated volume of investments meant for financing of other environment-oriented events will make up 660.5 million rubles in 2012.
In the current year, we should invest effort to make such pearls of natural and historical heritage as the ancient town of Bolgar and Sviyazhsk city island sparkle again. It is planned to complete coast-protection works started in 2011 at the expense of funds of the Federal targeted investment program in these places sacred for all Tatars.
The work on attracting investments is one of the top targets. The Ministry makes it its mission to further expand the constructive interaction with federal executive authorities with the purpose of substantial increase of investment amounts attracted from funds of the federal budget in the interest of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Summing up the Ministry’s work in 2011, I would like to mention that we are not quite satisfied with the results. We are to mobilize and unite all the resources available for us to overcome a variety of environmental problems in 2012 together with federal environmental authorities, industrial enterprises and municipal establishments. While working over the achievement of the specified task, we should always remember that we do this for the sake of health and well-being of our citizens.

All content on this site is licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International