The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine refused to issue an environmental impact assessment report for Geosend LLC, which planned to cut down the Zhikhor Forest in Kharkiv for the purpose of sand mining.
The report from EIA contained a number of contradictions and inaccuracies, eco-activist Iryna Kravchenko reported on Facebook.
She noted that the Kharkiv General Plan defines the territory of the Zhikhor forest as a recreational zone. Therefore, the construction of a quarry in it contradicts the Land Code of Ukraine. Also, the EIA report did not include a study of the impact of the potential quarry on the flora and fauna of the Emerald Network objects.
Kravchenko emphasized that the report did not take into account:
- the procedure for providing the forest, the balance holder of which is "October forestry" for the use of "Geosend" LLC, for its complete felling;
- impact on the groundwater level of the surrounding residential areas.
"This is the second attempt of the company to arrange a quarry. In February of this year, the Ministry of Environment already refused "Geosend" to agree to the conclusion of EIA. Therefore, in the spring, the society began to submit a report to the Department of Internal Affairs anew," she said.
The eco-activist assumed that "Geosend" may soon again submit documents for the construction of a quarry.
"But he failed to pass this EIA. I think that this happened thanks to the efforts of caring people who wrote comments on the report from the Department of Internal Affairs, Kravchenko said.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in July Kharkiv City Council announced the start of public discussion of the environmental impact assessment report regarding the complete cutting of 19.5 hectares of the Zhikhor forest for sand mining on an industrial scale.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, Kharkiv eco-activists appealed to Mayor Ihor Terekhov with demands to stop the barbaric crowning of trees in the city, i.e. cutting trees down to the trunk.
