Russian Government Faces Internal Conflict Over Fate of Pulp, Paper Mill at Lake Baikal

摘要

Internal Russian government documents reveal disagreement over whether to pay to modernize a pulp and paper plant operating on the shore of Lake Baikal or instead to build a new tourist industry in the area. Meanwhile, the federal environmental enforcement agency is bringing water pollution charges against the plant in an arbitration court with regional jurisdiction. The Soviet-era plant is accused of releasing harmful effluent into the lake, dumping solid waste, and polluting the air.