The appeals board of the Russian Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a complaint filed by environmental groups over the decision to reopen the controversial Baikal paper mill.
The Supreme Court ruled in mid-June that the government's decision to reopen Baikal Pulp Plant despite large-scale public protests was legal.
"We expected this decision. Now we will go to the European court," a spokesman for the Russian environmental groups said.
Greenpeace Russia programs director Ivan Blokov, however, said the problem was that the human rights convention contains no provision for the right to a clean environment.
"The grounds for lodging a complaint with the European court will be seriously discussed by experts," he said.
Plaintiff Andrei Margulev said the government's decision is not only in conflict with federal laws, in particular, a law on the protection of the lake, but also violates his rights to a favorable environment, even though he resides in Moscow.
Environmental protests over the mill's reopening broke out after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a resolution in January excluding the production of pulp, paper and cardboard from the list of operations banned in protected areas around Lake Baikal, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake, is known for its natural beauty and biodiversity. Over 80% of the animals living in the lake are unique.
Russian environmentalists collected 45,000 signatures in an appeal to stop further pollution of the lake from by the mill, which had been suspended 16 months ago due to ecological concerns.
MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti)
