Who Advises the Prime Minister: Environmentalist Levon Galstyan to Pashinyan

Environmentalist Levon Galstyan writes on his Facebook page: “WHO ADVISES THE PRIME MINISTER? Someone advised Nikol Pashinyan today to compare the mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, which has been in operation since 1906, during his live session about Amulsar. He argued that look, there is such a large mine next to the city, where the Olympic Games have been held, and there is a tailings pond nearby without any problems.

Now let me write about the reality: Investigations in the 1980s revealed that pollution of underground waters spread through hazardous materials as a result of mining operations. The state of Utah took legal actions against Kennecott and filed a damage claim against the mine in October 1986 for the loss and destruction of natural resources, particularly underground water.

There was also a threat from the tailings pond embankment. An engineering report in 1988 indicated that the dam of the tailings pond surrounding the city of Magna posed a threat of failure due to earthquakes, and that a billion tons of tailings would bury nearby homes if the dam failed. At that time, about $500 million was spent (1.1 billion in today’s prices) to resolve the issue.

In 1990, it was discovered that houses built on the plateau were contaminated with high levels of lead and arsenic. Remediation actions for a century's worth of accumulated impacts began in the 1990s under the environmental quality and federal oversight of the state of Utah and continue to this day.

In 1995, scientific studies showed that mining operations had caused the contamination of underground waters. The state of Utah passed laws requiring the operating company to pay $37 million (or $61 million in today’s prices) to control water pollution.

Discharges from mining sites resulted in wastewater containing high levels of arsenic and selenium. Selenium is particularly toxic to birds, fish, and amphibians, and about 30% of fish populations perished in the early 1990s.

Should I continue or is that enough? Dear Prime Minister, please reconsider those advising you, as you are responsible to the people and the state, and with such advisors, we won't get far. And did they advise you about Amulsar and other mines, claiming it is possible to operate metal mines without contaminating underground and surface waters? Here is the link to verify what I wrote: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingham_Canyon_Mine

Additionally: Will it be determined who provided incorrect information about this mine, and will they be removed from their position, or are only the poor state employees removed due to the flag?

One of the photos is of the mine, and the other is a list of hazardous emissions that occurred between 2000 and 2011.