The Irkutsk Region Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology summed up 2012. The board discussed results, cooperation with federal agencies, and tasks for 2013. Key achievements included cleanup at the Angarsk Metallurgical Plant, removal of over 225,000 cubic meters of waste from dumps, and measures to protect the Okunaysky reserve and give it protected status. Special attention was given to the cleanup of oil pollution in the Bratsk Reservoir, which found no serious environmental damage.

At the board meeting, the results of the work of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Irkutsk Region in 2012 were reviewed. Specialists also discussed issues of cooperation with territorial bodies of federal executive authorities and the ministry’s tasks for 2013.
Within the framework of the federal target program “National System of Chemical and Biological Safety of the Russian Federation (2009-2013),” in 2012 the neutralization of waste from the Angarsk Metallurgical Plant (AMP) and the technical reclamation of the land of the AMP industrial site were carried out. The waste was removed, and the pollution source was eliminated. A positive state expert review conclusion was obtained for the capital construction project “Elimination of arsenic contamination of the territory of the industrial site of the Angarsk Metallurgical Plant in the area of the town of Svirsk, Irkutsk Region.” Also, design and cost documentation for the program “Elimination (demercurization) of the decommissioned mercury electrolysis shop in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye” was submitted to the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage for state environmental expert review.
Significant federal budget funds were allocated to eliminate unauthorized dumps in the Olkhonsky and Irkutsky municipal districts, and more than 225 thousand cubic meters of waste were removed.
In 2012, a positive state environmental expert review conclusion was obtained to grant legal status to the specially protected natural areas of regional significance, the state nature reserve “Okunaysky” (Swan Lakes).
About 32 million rubles were spent on eliminating the consequences of oil product pollution of the water area of the Bratsk Reservoir, which occurred in April 2012, including 20 million rubles from the regional budget. Funding for the measures was carried out within the framework of the long-term target program “Environmental Protection in the Irkutsk Region for 2011-2015.” As a result of the surveys conducted, which continued until late autumn, no pollution of the Angara River and the Bratsk Reservoir, or damage to wildlife and aquatic biological resources, was found.
Following the board meeting, the work of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Irkutsk Region in 2012 was recognized as satisfactory.
Based on materials from the press service of the Government of the Irkutsk Region