Save Lena!

Greetings to the visitors of “The Save Lena River” Action website!

     The Lena river is not just a blue line on the map of Russia. And the “East Siberia – Pacific Ocean” Oil Pipeline (ESPO) crossing of the river is not just another hydro-technical construction on one of the biggest Siberian rivers.
But the ESPO underwater crossing of the river Lena is nothing but an oil “bomb”. We call it this way, because the effect of oil spills on this river - one of the biggest and clearest rivers in the world, which nourishes the area compared to the European Union - can be as destructive as bomb affect. And this “bomb” is being set not counting safety regulations and scientific data, not counting the local government and peoples’ opinion. Such situation is a result of non-responsible and quick profit oriented attitude of giant transnational corporation. The company relies on management and economy issues when weighing the alternatives – to spend up to 40 % more money on the project or to save the river they have probably not even seen with their own eyes.
     That is why it is now our chance, our only possibility to save the Lena river from oil spills in fututre. Why would such disasters happen?

     The ESPO project has the crossing of the Lena river at Solyanka village down from the town of Olyokminsk.
The method of the crossing had been changed without open public discussion: neither the government nor the people of the republic were informed of the Transneft’s decision to change from the micro-tunnel to the trench method, which then was approved by the state ecological expertise.
     According to the specialists of the Institute of the Physical and Technical Problems of the North, the Institute of Geology and Precious Metals, the Institute of Permafrost studies of RAS, Yakutsk Division of HydroMeteo Service of RF, the chosen place for the pipeline to cross the river adds risks for the possible oil spills from the trench as there are the following dangerous factors:
     - one of biggest Siberian rivers, the Olyokma river, flows into the Lena river just 4 km upstream from the chosen place for the pipeline crossing. This fact rises the risk of ice jams while the break-up period (up to 40 feet high and 44 miles long ice flocks), which can dig up big wholes on the river bottom and destruct the trench;
     - at the break-up period the Olyokma river can drag up big stones to the trench crossing place at break up time;
     - the washing of soil and salt under the buried pipes, which may cause their deformation, and thus, oil spills;
     - high possibility of earthquakes in the area of crossing due to the geological complexity of the area.

     Deformation of the pipes in the trench can cause oil spill disaster:
     - according to the projected calculations, the massive oil spill will elapse about 83333, 3 cu. feet of oil into the river;
     - counting the average width of the river, 0,97 miles, this amount of oil will make about 500 miles oil front and the polluted oiled water will reach Yakutsk area in 4 days in summer;
     - the company-customer of the project OJSK “Transneft” didn’t imply any alternative water supply for the settlements downstream in case of such oil spills;
     - owing to the high toxic oil components such oil spill will do much harm to the fish, birds and to all living creatures inhabiting the bottom, the water and the banks (the Institute of Oil and Gas Problems data).

     That’s why the leading scientists, ecologists from Yakutia and Far East are addressing the government of Russia in urge to switch the method of river crossing for the tunnel rather than the trench.
     Moreover, the construction of the pipeline is being done with abundant violations of technical and juridical regulations. Thus, the controlling work by the Ministry for nature protection and Technical Survey Department of the Sakha republic in the year of 2007-08 has shown 97 violations of regulatory technical inscriptions and 86 violations of the nature protection laws!
     The weak points of the trench method were obviously seen at two incidents happened on the gas pipeline crossing the river not far upstream from Yakutsk. And it was really hard (financially and technically) to eliminate the consequences of those gas spills and retain the functioning of the gas pipeline system.

     The Save the River Lena Action is initiated by the Civic Coalition “Our homeland – Yakutia”, which then organized the Organizing Committee of the Action and Public Council of the Action. Any person obtaining high position in science, education, culture and arts is welcome to join the Public Council of the Action, as the Lena river is worldwide natural heritage.      The Action will be held on till the government of Russia and the company-customer “Transneft” will reconsider the ESPO river crossing for tunneling. The Action is a set of informative, educational and agitation activities which are held with various frequency and with different people involved. Later on, this Action will also be a part of public ecological monitoring of the Lena river.
     The Save the River Lena Action is out of the politics and commercial PR, this is a civic action. Politicians and political actions may support the action but with no advertisement of their affiliations.
     The major activity within the Action is collecting the voices of all people who wish to give their voice to support our petition for the government of Russia to change the method of the river crossing from trench to tunnel.
     We, the Organizing Committee of the Action and those some 8000 people who have already given their voices for the Lena river, are encouraging you to support this initiative to protect the Lena river and become the participant of the Action, no matter what place you are from, what your citizenship, nationality and social status is! This summer we have a chance to evade the future oil spills on the river, or at least to lessen the risks of their happening.      We hope that the authorities and government of Russia and the Sakha republic will not remain in history as those people who let “the oil bomb” kill the mighty river owing to their ill-thought actions and non-sustainable policies.
Learn how to get involved in the Action in the section “Support the Action”: sing the Petition and find other variants of how you can help us.

Dear friends, let’s do it together – save our Lena river.