The largest steel producer in Ukraine "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" is ready to appeal the claim of the State Environmental Inspectorate for 450 million hryvnia in court. This was reported by the press service of the metallurgical enterprise.
"The latest claim of the State Environmental Inspection against ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is another example of how the controlling body, speculating on public opinion, puts forward unjustified accusations and calculations of losses allegedly caused to the environment," the press service noted. >
They noted that the environmental inspectorate made claims in the amount of over 450 million hryvnia for the fact that a metallurgical enterprise on its own, specially allocated territory places sludge, which is a by-product of sinter production and then re- used in sinter production.
"This is a standard production technology for the entire mining and metallurgical industry, and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is no exception," the message says.
The slurry site of the enterprise is a Soviet legacy, which the new owner received in 2005 with the purchase of the asset. Kryvorizhstal had an agreed technological scheme for storing sludge at a specific site of the enterprise, and this did not harm the environment. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih still uses this technology, quickly processing sludge at the facilities of the sinter plant of metallurgical production, avoiding excessive accumulation of waste. Unfortunately, the situation began to deteriorate this year, while the sinter plant was idle, and the enterprise was awaiting permission for its operation from government agencies for five months.
Representatives of the State Environmental Inspection carried out a scheduled inspection on the territory of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in April 2021. In the documents sent to the company, they refer to data from the free Google Maps service.
“In the threat of new fines and endless unscheduled inspections from the SEI, we see unconditional pressure on business,” says Artem Filipyev, Administrative Director of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. - “We are ready to defend our case in court. When an inspection body abuses public confidence and jeopardizes the investment climate, it slows down not only the country's economic development, but also the modernization of production, which would improve the environment. ”
