page_title: Environmental racism in Europe
section_title: Komi Republic
hierarchical_section_title: Environmental racism in Europe / Central and Eastern Europe / Russia / Komi Republic
caption_attribution_description: English: Komi Republic oil pollution, traditional Izhma territories
context_page_description: Environmental racism is a term used by Enikő Vincze for "the practice of environmental injustice within a racialized context", in which "socially marginalized communities and minority groups" are subjected to disproportionate exposure of environmental hazards, denial of access to sources of ecological sustenance such as clean air, water, and natural resources, or infringement of environmentally related human rights.
  According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, environmental justice is "the fair treatment for people of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the development of environmental laws, regulations and policies".
  As applied to Europe, patterns of "environmental racism" have been postulated in particular toward Romani communities.
  According to Trehan and Kocze, "EU accession for the post-socialist countries has resulted in a de facto centre and periphery within Europe itself, thus exacerbating the already marginal economic and political position of Roma in Europe whose communities continue to subsist as internal colonies within Europe."
context_section_description: In 2015, 14.9 million tons of oil were produced from Komi Republic, an increase of 5.4% over 2014 production. The Komi Republic, which lies in Northwestern Russia, is home to the Indigenous Komi people, has 152 hydrocarbon fields, of which 87 produce oil and gas; 65 are currently in commercial production, and 22 are designated as experimental. In 1994, a pipeline fractured near the city of Usinsk, Komi Republic. According to Komineft (Komi Oil) and local government officials, 14,000 metric tons of oil leaked; however, this figure is disputed. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the leak in fact saw 270,000 metric tons spilled. In the words of a press release from the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, "it was the site of the world's worst ever terrestrial oil spill."
  The Pechora, Kolva, and Usa rivers have all experienced significant contamination from oil leaks. 1,900 leaks were documented along Komineft-owned pipelines between 1986 and 1991. Throughout the region, there are also concerns surrounding the accountability of environmental monitoring and cleanup programs.
  
  For example, in the settlement of Kolva in Komi Indigenous territory, Komi Indigenous people were left to clean up the site of a major oil spill themselves, with minimal assistance from government authorities or oil company workers; the Head of Usinsk District, Alexander Tian, responded to Komi requests for help by allegedly stating "If you do not want to breathe in oil fumes, you should take a boat out and remove the oil yourself!" and offered to pay 10,000 rubles (approximately 250 Euros) per barrel recovered—a reimbursement that Kolva residents claim was not honoured. Out of 117 persons cleaning the site, 11 were workers from Rusveitpetro, the owner of the pipeline, a number that some activists felt was inadequate. Later, the inhabitants of Kolva asked for regular water testing over concerns of drinking water contamination. The results of the samples, sent to Syktyvkar, were never released, yet Komi Republic officials insisted that the tests determined the water was safe, leading to allegations of government unaccountability. According to an unidentified source from within the Komi Republic government administration, there were allegations word of the spill was suppressed by Rusveitpetro for a period of possibly several months, and that lawsuits would likely not cover the full costs of cleanup.
  On April 10, 2016, members of the Komi Izvatas (also known as Komi Izhemtsy) Indigenous subgroup reported to the Committee to Save the Pechora that a large oil spill had taken place on the Yagera River near Ukhta. According to the Committee, 400 metric tons of crude oil reached the Izhma River, reportedly causing concerns of effects on Izvatas livelihoods. On April 26, sixteen days later, a possible source of the leak was identified by the Committee to Save Pechora at Malyi Voivoizh creek, although government officials could not confirm.
  Many residents of Izhma district believe that cancers are occurring at an increasing rate of incidence due to pollution. Food sources such as fish have allegedly become contaminated, and reindeer have been poisoned by oil spills on their grazing areas. According to Makliuk, most residents of the district live in poverty. They also claim discriminatory hiring processes that give preference to non-local workers, in spite of the enormous revenues generated from their traditional territories. According to one resident, "we have to live on the disposal dump of [the] oil industry. We can't even sell our houses and move away, because they cost nothing."
  On April 11, 2014, the Izhma district council passed a resolution to support a complete shutdown of oil and gas operations in the area. The decision was in part due to concerns over economic effects on reindeer herding; the residents of Izhma, many of whom are Izvata, are part of the only subgroup within the Komi Indigenous people who still practice this livelihood. In particular, concerns were sparked by the discovery of new drilling rigs in close proximity (200 m
caption: Aging oil infrastructure, Komi Republic, traditional Izvata territories
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}