IRKUTSK, May 4. - RAPSI. The Federal Service for the Supervision of Natural Resources has submitted a demand to the Irkutsk Region Commercial Court to recover $1.18 million in losses inflicted on Lake Baikal from Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill.
"The claim by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources to recover 35.1 million rubles ($1.18 mln) in losses inflicted on Lake Baikal, is pending the consideration of the Irkutsk Region Commercial Court," the message reads.
The details of the case have not been specified. The hearing will take place on May 24.
This is not the first time the watchdog has been involved in a legal dispute with the mill. A year ago, the agency took the mill to court, claiming that the mill had committed several violations against the law "On the Protection of Lake Baikal," government's ruling and Maritime Law.
During the investigation, the watchdog found that in 2010 the concentration of polluting substances in water discharged from the mill into the lake exceeded the permitted levels. The court obligated the mill to pay a fine of 11.9 million rubles ($403,200).