Assessment of transboundary environmental damage to the Baltic sea basin during construction and operation of the offshore pipeline system

Aim. Assessment of the transboundary environmental damage the Baltic Sea basin during the construction and operation of offshore pipelines. Assessment of the environmental consequences of the sabotage actions associated with the destruction of the Nord Stream offshore gas transportation system, including those associated with the disposal of chemical weapons of the Third Reich and illegal waste disposal in the waters near the island of Bornholm. Integrated assessment of the environmental damage caused to the Baltic Sea basin during the construction and operation of regional and local oil and gas pipelines. Recommendations to the authorities of the Russian Federation on the creation and implementation of legal requirements for environmental damage compensation.

Materials and methods. An analysis of the actual pollution and environmental damage caused to the Baltic Sea basin during construction, operation, and sabotage actions on the offshore pipeline system was carried out using open data. The regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation and their practical implementation were evaluated.

Results. The environmental consequences of the undermining of the Nord Stream offshore pipeline system during sabotage attacks were studied. The impact of the hydrodynamic shock and methane on the Baltic Sea biota was assessed. A consolidated assessment of the environmental damage during the construction and operation of regional and local oil and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was carried out.

Conclusion. Recommendations are given to the authorities of the Russian Federation on the creation and implementation of legal requirements related to environmental damage compensation, methods for compensating the damage caused to the property of the Russian Federation and Russian citizens by harmful emissions from neighboring states not in international, but in Russian courts in accordance with Russian legislation.

1. Accidents on the “Nord Streams”. Where the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines are damaged. KommersanT, 27.09.2022. Available from: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5582556?from-=doc_vrez (last accessed: 04.08.2023) (In Russian).

2. Borisov T.N. The Apocalypse on a European scale // Ecology and life. 2002. No. 1. P. 48—51 (In Russian).

3. Grigoryan A. Integrity of pressurized gas pipelines: some lessons of scientific and technical cooperation between ENGE and Gazprom PJSC // Gas transportation systems: present and future: Abstracts of the sixth International Scientific and Technical Conference conf. GTS-2015, Moscow, October 28-29, 2015. Moscow: OOO Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gases and Gas Technologies — Gazprom VNIIGAZ. 2015. P. 12. EDN UWFRVO (In Russian).

4. 4. Data from aerial monitoring of pollution in the Baltic Sea area from 1988 to 2015. HELKOM. Available from: http://www.helcom.fi/news/PublishingImages/Pages/Detected-oil-spills-in-the-Baltic-Sea-reachall-time-low/Map_Discharges%20observed.jpg (last accessed: 12.12.2021) (In Russian).

5. ZHiznin S.Z., Timohov V.M. Economic and geopolitical aspects of “Nord stream-2” // The Baltic Region. 2019. T.11, iss. 3. P. 25—42 (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2019-3-2.

6. A comprehensive analysis of the danger of submerged captured German chemical weapons in the post-war period in the Baltic Sea. Research Report. Moscow, military unit 64518. 1992. 183 p. (In Russian).

7. Investigation of gas leaks from Nord Streams What is known about the Nord Stream gas pipelines and their undermining. 14 March. Available from: https://tass.ru/info/17258101 (last accessed: 04.08.2023) (In Russian).

8. The Geography resource. Articles. Available from: www.geographyofrussia.com (last accessed: 04.08.2023) (In Russian).

9. Serdyukov S.G. Nord Stream: the benchmark of the pipeline industry // Business Magazine Neftegaz.RU. 2015. No. 5(41). P. 54—60 (In Russian).

10. The scheme of detected hydrocarbon pollution of the Baltic Sea in 2015. HELKOM, Available from: http://www.helcom.fi/news/Pages/Detected-oil-spillsin-the-Baltic-Sea-reach-all-time-low.aspx (last accessed: 12.12.2021).

11. Nord Stream. A gas pipeline directly connecting Russia and Europe. Available from: URL: http://www.gazprom.ru/projects/nord-stream/ (last accessed: 04.08.2023) (In Russian).

12. Nord Stream. Illustration. Available from: http:// www.gazprom.ru/f/posts/04/069336/23-11-2016_ nord_stream_2.jpg (last accessed: 04.08.2023) (In Russian).

13. $10 Billion and Totally Empty: The Engineering Behind Russia’s Deadlocked Pipeline: Nord Stream 2’. Practical Engineering. 19 April 2022. URL: https://practical.engineering/blog/2022/4/19/the-engineering-behind-russias-deadlocked-pipeline-nord-stream-2 (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

14. ‘Nord Stream probe “tailored” against Russia — Kremlin’, Moscow Times, 18 October 2022. URL: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/10/18/nord-stream-probe-tailored-against-russia-kremlin-a79113/ (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

15. Brocławik O., Łukawska-Matuszewska K., BrodeckaGoluch A., Bolałek J. Impact of methane occurrence on iron speciation in the sediments of the Gdansk Basin (Southern Baltic Sea) // Science of The Total Environment. 2020. Vol. 721, 137718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137718

16. Financial Times, Moscow blames ‘state service’ for Nord Stream blasts, 09.03.2023. URL: https:// www.ft.com/content/8867cab2-4d03-4862-84ef892090191a74#post-93a7d5df-264a-49d9-9f36-eb8923605796 (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

17. Hans Sanderson, Michał Czub, Sven Koschinski et al. (2023) “Environmental impact of sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines,” PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2564820/v1. URL: https://www.greencarcongress.com/2023/03/20230317-nordtream.html (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

18. Heyer J., Berger U. Methane Emission from the Coastal Area in the Southern Baltic Sea // Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 2000. Vol. 51, issue 1. P. 13—30. https://doi.org/10.1006/ecss.2000.0616.

19. Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, U.S. Officials Say, The New York Times, March 7, 2023. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/us/politics/nord-streampipeline-sabotage-ukraine.html (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

20. Pipes and Mirrors: the Nord Stream Explosions, 28.04.2023. URL: https://icds.ee/en/pipes-and-mirrors-the-nord-stream-explosions/ (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

21. Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, The White House, June 26, 2023. URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/06/26/press-briefing-bypress-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-nsc-coordinator-for-strategic-communications-john-kirby-17/ (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

22. Hersh S. How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline. The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now, 08.02. 2023. URL: https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream?fbclid=IwAR3ZZxWq4cYLCg3nwOpx4c8kO3RqiXOeMHCgkq4Orz9nvLKvPCBNiALkiNk (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

23. Six suspects, a yacht and new details’, t-online, 8 March 2003. URL: https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/internationale-politik/id_100140202/nordstream-explosion-sechs-verdaechtige-eine-yachtund-verraeterische-spuren-.html (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

24. Telegram-канал первого заместителя постоянного представителя РФ при ООН Дмитрия Полянского, 14 марта 2023 г. URL: https://t.me/dpol_un/488 (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

25. The draft resolution calling for an investigation was submitted on 22 February and, supported only by Brazil and China, was voted down on 27 March. Karen DeYoung, ‘Russia, blaming US sabotage, calls for UN probe of Nord Stream’, Washington Post, 22 February 2023. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/22/russia-un-nord-stream-hersh-investigation/ (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

26. The possible climate effect of the gas leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Danish Energy Agency, 29.9.2022. URL: https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/the-possible-climateeffect-of-the-gas-leaks-from-the-nord-stream1-and-nord-stream-2-pipelines?publisherId-=13560521&releaseId=13660965 (last accessed: 04.08.2023).

27. West kept quiet about Nord Stream attack to protect Ukraine, The Times, 08.03.2023. URL: https:// www.thetimes.co.uk/article/west-nato-nord-streamattacks-protect-ukraine-qsrqxvssw (last accessed: 04.08.2023).