The Mykolaiv Alumina Plant was stripped of its permit to extract artesian water, which the water company distributes to the city's residents

The State Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine suspended the special permit of the «Mykolaiv Alumina Plant» for the use of subsoil, namely for the extraction of artesian water from the Halytsynivka mineral deposit.

This is stated in the response of the State Geological Survey to the information request of NikVesti.

It is noted that the permit will be suspended from December 1, 2023, in accordance with Order No. 534 dated October 18, 2023.

«According to Part 4 of Article 57 of the Subsoil Code of Ukraine, within 20 calendar days after the suspension of the special permit for the use of the subsoil, the subsoil user is obliged to stop the work provided for by the corresponding special permit for the use of the subsoil, on the area granted to him in the area of the use of the subsoil,» it says in the order.

In 2010, MAP received the relevant permit for the extraction of underground drinking water for a period of 20 years.

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The reason for the suspension of the special permit was the formal non-compliance of Mykolaiv Alumina Plant LLC with the new requirements of the Code of Ukraine on Subsoil in terms of disclosure of the ultimate beneficial owner of the company.

The publication NADRA.INFO notes that the Mykolaiv water utility is asking State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine not to prohibit the MAP from using the field, which «provides up to 20% of all drinking water in the city».

— This will be very bad for the city, because this water is social. Water is distributed to residents in a large number of points, free of charge (the plant does not charge for water supply, we do not charge residents when they collect this water). This is a very important social aspect of water supply! It is used by all residents of the city, in particular the less mobile and socially vulnerable population groups. In the conditions that have developed in the city of Mykolaiv, this water is very important for us!», — Boris Dudenko, director of the Mykolaivvodokanal utility company, said in a comment to NADRA.INFO.

He emphasized that there are simply no other sources of artesian water in the city with such a daily flow rate as provided by the MAP. In addition, the Mykolaiv Alumina water supply system is integrated into the municipal water supply network, which is a significant advantage for the city.

According to Boris Dudenko, both the regional military administration and the city hall have already been warned about the risk of losing 1/5 of the drinking water balance of Mykolaiv.

«Let's hope that the State Geological Service will make a well-considered decision, taking into account the difficult situation with the water supply in Mykolaiv, in which the city found itself almost from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion,» — said the director of the water supply company.

It will be recalled that in 2023 a decision was made to nationalize the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which belonged to the Russian oligarch Oleg Derypaska.