“Gavigudet” Attended the Public Deliberation of the Scoping Report of JSC “Rustavoil”
“Gavigudet” Attended the Public Deliberation of the Scoping Report of JSC “Rustavoil”
Today, June 7, a public discussion of the scoping report for JSC “Rustavoil’s” project on the installation and operation of an above-ground storage facility for oil and oil products, and liquefied gas with a capacity of over 100 m3, was held at Rustavi City Hall.
In addition to our team, the meeting was attended by representatives from the enterprise, the consulting company, the National Environmental Agency (Environmental Assessment Department), the Environmental Information and Education Center, and Rustavi City Hall.
Moreover, we are pleased that a citizen who learned about the details of the public discussion from us attended the meeting and actively participated. As is our tradition, our team informed the public about the public discussion in advance.
The purpose of the plant’s technological cycle is to obtain bitumen from fuel oil and tar.
The planned changes include the commissioning of additional tanks and other technological equipment on the fuel oil processing line, as well as the commissioning of two new technological lines, specifically: a light oil products storage facility with a total capacity of 10,000 m3 and a liquefied gas storage facility with a total capacity of 4,600 m3. The planned changes also include using waste oil as an alternative fuel.
The annual amount of fuel oil to be processed will be 960,000 tons, while the amount of tar will be 480,000 tons.
Impact on atmospheric air:
During the operation of the plant, harmful substances are formed and emitted into the atmosphere at various sections of the plant.
Emission sources include:
Gasoline section – recovery unit (during gasoline receiving/dispensing operations);
Diesel section – tanks, diesel dispensing to tank trucks, diesel dispensing to rail tank cars.
Fuel oil, oils, and bitumen section – areas for receiving/storing/dispensing oil products, boiler equipment, bitumen, and oil dispensing columns.
Liquefied gas section – liquefied gas dispensing point from rail tank cars, loading points for liquefied gas from storage to tank trucks.
We present the questions and issues raised by our team at the public deliberation regarding the activity:
– First, our team was interested in the distribution of activity between LLC “Serpens” and JSC “Rustavoil.” On January 26, 2023, a presentation of LLC “Serpens” was held, and it became known that Serpens started functioning based on Rustavoil’s rebranding. Regarding this, last year we clarified with the ministry whether any permit was issued based on a decision to transfer the activity from “Rustavoil” to “Serpens.” As clarified from the ministry’s response, no decision was issued for “Serpens,” while regarding Rustavoil, it was carrying out activities in the area based on the decision issued by the previous order (N2-949).
We clarified this issue today with Rustavoil representatives, and it turned out that last year, a new shareholder was planning to enter the company’s shares, for this reason, the company was renamed “Serpens.” However, the issue of the shareholder’s entry was soon suspended, and the enterprise continues functioning under the old name and activities of “Rustavoil.”
– We also clarified whether the enterprise is subject to self-monitoring obligations. According to the company representatives, this obligation applies to planned activities, but the company will clarify this issue at the EIA stage.
– We inquired about the inspection of sludge removed from the sludge storage, specifically whether visual inspection is sufficient, as mentioned in the scoping report. As explained, visual inspection only concerns the quantitative characteristics of the sludge; however, the qualitative characteristics were not specified.
After the public deliberation, our team also visited the enterprise territory and familiarized ourselves with the details of the ongoing and planned project on-site.