Press Release, 28.04.2020

The authorised representative of the Yabloko regional office in the Leningrad Region appealed to the regional authorities with a proposal to postpone the public discussion of all high-profile waste management projects for a period after the coronavirus epidemic ends and living conditions in the Leningrad region come to its normal state.

“The whole history of recent years shows that the issues of the location and reconstruction of waste management facilities in the Leningrad Region cause a heated public discussion, often taking the form of protest rallies and spontaneous popular gatherings,” recalls Oksana Demchenko, authorised representative of the Yabloko party in the Leningrad Region. “We are convinced that the epidemic of coronavirus infection and the forced self-isolation of residents of the Leningrad Region are currently hindering a full-fledged public discussion of any planned economic activity, in particular waste management facilities, which always attract increased attention from citizens.”

On April 27, the authorised representative of the the Yabloko party in the Leningrad Region made a proposal to postpone the environmental impact assessment procedure (including the stage of public discussion involving a public hearing) on ​​all high-profile waste management projects for a period of time after the end of the coronavirus infection epidemic and normalisation of living conditions on territory of the region. Corresponding letters were sent to the Governor of the Leningrad Region, regional administrations and the customers of the planned economic activity.

“An attempt to go through the stage of public discussion and get a positive state examination without fully taking into account the opinions of local residents and public organisations is always fraught with big problems in the future, already at the stage of the project,” the letter runs. “Residents of the districts of the Leningrad Region may feel deceived with good reason when construction equipment arrives at the site and it turns out that citizens have no legitimate opportunity to influence the project, since the public discussion took place during their isolation. Such a scenario of development of the situation is unacceptable if the goal is the sustainable development of the territory of the Leningrad Region on the basis of equal dialogue and public participation.”

It should be noted that in the midst of the period of self-isolation in the Leningrad Region, a public discussion was announced of four projects of the planned economic activity in the field of waste management: the construction of a waste disposal complex in the Kingisepp district, the reconstruction of landfills in Ivangorod and in the Tosnensky district, as well as land recultivation under a garbage dump in the Priozersky district. The Leningrad Regional branch of the Yabloko Party has already applied to the Interdistrict Environmental Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Leningrad Region regarding a possible violation of the environmental impact assessment procedure for waste management projects in the Kingisepp District.