Service head says Norilsk Nickel pays all fines for fuel spill

VLADIVOSTOK, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel has paid all fines, or several hundreds of thousands of rubles, for the May fuel spill, Svetlana Rodionova, head of the Federal Service for Natural Resources Oversight, said during a TV show aired on Channel One late on Monday.

“They have paid all the fines. The fines amounted to several hundreds of thousands (of rubles),” she said.

A fuel tank at the premises of Norilsk Nickel’s unit Taimyr Energy Company lost pressure on May 29 and leaked out 21,000 tonnes of fuel and lubricants into the river Ambarnaya, causing fire. The Federal Service for Natural Resources Oversight assessed the damage inflicted on the environment by the spill at 147.7 billion rubles in July, but Norilsk Nickel disputed the amount of damage.

(77.9241 rubles – U.S. $1)

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