Baikal Plant To Be Shut Down

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: October 3, 2012 (Issue # 1729)

MOSCOW — The Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill will “almost certainly” be closed in the near future, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said.

“There has been a lot of discussion, there is a group that is analyzing various courses of action...most likely the plant on Baikal will close, almost certainly,” Dvorkovich was quoted as saying last Friday.

For decades, environmentalists have campaigned for the closure of the controversial factory, which they say releases dangerous pollutants into the pristine waters of Lake Baikal.

It was briefly closed in 2008 after the federal environmental watchdog ordered it to cease releasing effluent into the lake, a process essential to the production of high-value bleached cellulose, which makes the plant profitable.

Then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allowed the plant to recommence production in early 2010.

Plant employees were reportedly told in June that the mill would finally close when its license to release effluent into Lake Baikal expired on August 15.

But regulators last month extended the mill’s license for another year while other options are considered.

The plant is the main employer in the town of Baikalsk and authorities are said to be wary of the economic impact of closure.