The head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Andrei Khudyk, called for wider use of the unique natural complexes of the Vitebsk region
In a conversation with journalists, he also noted that, on the whole, the ecologists of the Vitebsk region are coping quite successfully with the tasks set.
At a working meeting, the chairman of the regional committee for natural resources and environmental protection, Ruslan Vinokurov, reported on the current situation.
Water Resources
The ecological state of the surface water bodies of the Western Dvina and Dnieper basins is assessed as quite favorable. The water quality of the main rivers of the Vitebsk region remains stable with a tendency towards some improvement.
Cases of water pollution occur due to insufficient efficiency and technological imperfection of treatment facilities, and the unsatisfactory level of operation of livestock complexes.
This year, sewage networks and new treatment facilities have been built in Verkhnedvinsk and Glubokoye. Currently, within the framework of cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, new projects are being developed for the modernization of sewage treatment facilities in Beshenkovichi, Miory, Gorodok, Glubokoye and Orsha districts.
The issue of the liquidation plugging of non-operating wells remains problematic. It is carried out extremely slowly, as the work requires significant financial resources.
Atmospheric Air
In 2017, technical re-equipment, improvement and optimization of technological processes were carried out at 72 production sites of 36 enterprises. This allows for a reduction in annual emissions of pollutants by 883.6 tons.
The state of atmospheric air in large cities is assessed as consistently good. Compared to the same period last year, the level of air pollution by sulfur dioxide in Polotsk and Novopolotsk has significantly decreased, which is due to the optimal-maximum capacity utilization of OJSC "Naftan" for processing hydrogen sulfide-containing gases. In recent years, the content of carbon monoxide and formaldehyde in the air of monitored cities has been decreasing.
At the same time, in certain districts of Vitebsk, Novopolotsk, and Orsha, episodic exceedances of daily permissible concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were recorded. The main reasons are related to the deficit of precipitation during those periods and unfavorable meteorological conditions for dispersion.
The replacement of technically and morally obsolete equipment at housing and communal services and road management enterprises is proceeding slowly, which leads to violations of environmental standards. In 2017, 14 housing and communal services boiler houses were identified as exceeding permissible emission indicators.
Waste Management
More than 800 thousand tons of waste are generated annually in the Vitebsk region, of which about 500 thousand tons are production waste (their utilization rate was 78%).
The construction of solid municipal waste (SMW) landfills remains one of the problems. It is necessary to complete the construction of such a facility in Novopolotsk, which began in 2010. New SMW landfills are required for Vitebsk, Orsha, Postavy, Rossony, and Shumilino.
In accordance with the State Program "Comfortable Housing and a Favorable Environment" for 2016-2020, the construction of a waste processing plant in Vitebsk is planned, which will increase the volume of extracted secondary material resources.
Order on the Land
Regarding issues of establishing order on the land, almost 17 thousand territories and objects have been surveyed, and 830 monitoring activities have been carried out. Over 4.9 thousand violations of environmental legislation have been identified (95% rectified), and 722 waste dumps have been eliminated. Over 1.5 thousand protocols have been drawn up against officials and legal entities, with fines totaling 219.7 thousand rubles.
Work to combat Sosnowsky's hogweed has been carried out over an area of 1,755 hectares (85% of the total). 77.6 thousand rubles of budget funds and 109.1 thousand rubles of own funds from land users have been utilized.
For 2018, it is planned to allocate 310 thousand rubles from the regional budget and 89.2 thousand rubles from local budgets to finance measures for regulating the spread and population of Sosnowsky's hogweed; land users will spend 214 thousand rubles.
Control Activities
The environmental protection service monitors 181 high-risk objects, 513 medium-risk objects, and 46.6 thousand low-risk objects.
Over 10 months of 2017, 5.3 thousand legislative violations were suppressed. 276 planned and 30 control inspections were conducted. Despite their overall reduction, 556 thousand rubles were received by the state in the form of fines and claims.
195 instances of environmental damage totaling 209.8 thousand rubles were identified. In 2017, 4 reports of accidents related to environmental impact were registered. Measures were taken for their liquidation.