Vladimir Oblast residents hold a rally against sand quarry expansion
Public hearings on the quarry expansion were held in February. Residents of the villages in the Sudogodsky District opposed the excavation of land. According to them, there has already been no water in wells because of the quarry development. However, the district authorities recognized their arguments as "undocumented" and sent the project for approval.
The quarry development project was coordinated by the district administration, the vice-governor, the Department of Environmental Management, etc. Officials reported that the land was not valuable.
The residents came out with posters against the quarry development, launched a petition, and held a protest flash mob. They demanded that the authorities give them a land reclamation plan, but this never happened.
There was a similar situation in Orenburg Oblast. On January 15, 2022, residents of the village of Aschebutak held a "protest" volunteer clean-up against the development of a quarry for ore extraction. They were afraid that the company's work would cause environmental problems in the village, dust would lodge on the houses, and there would be a poisonous quarry on the site after the works, which would negatively affect people's health. In addition, they appealed to the prosecutor's office.
As a result, the Ormet Company refused to develop a copper-zinc ore quarry in the village of Aschebutak, the Dombarovsky District, due to insignificant mineral reserves. The company plans to work with another source of raw materials.