"Eco inspectors have nothing to do": the director of the utility company stands by the controversial pruning of plane trees on Sobornaya Street.

The controversial pruning of plane trees on Sobornaya Street was carried out in accordance with all regulations and under the supervision of specialists. The protests from residents "have a different context," and eco-inspectors may "simply have nothing to do."

These statements were made during a briefing by the director of KP "Nikolaevskie Parki," Dmitry Chuchmay.

He also added that tree pruning is a response to residents' complaints and part of the effort to preserve green spaces.

- There have been many complaints from city residents regarding pruning and removal — to date, there are around 1700 requests citywide. No one has systematically dealt with this issue. "The main goal of pruning is to preserve green spaces and to prevent dry branches from falling on citizens' heads," said the director of KP.

He assured that workers are guided by the order of the Ministry of Construction, Architecture, and Housing of Ukraine No. 105 dated 01.10.2006 "On the Approval of the Rules for the Maintenance of Green Spaces in Settlements of Ukraine" and the internal documents of the enterprise. These include acts of inspection of green spaces and work schedules. These activities are conducted within the appropriate agro-technical time frame.

He reminded that in February 2024, there were also negative reviews regarding tree pruning on the same Sobornaya Street.

- A criminal case was initiated based on a statement from state eco-inspectors. However, according to the findings of experts during the engineering-economic examination, no violations were found! Law enforcement involved an expert — and no violations were identified! As a result, the decision was made to close the criminal proceedings. Only after that did we continue work on Sobornaya Street, Chuchmay explained.

He also clarified that according to the eco-inspector, the trees on Sobornaya Street in February 2024 were pruned to the point of stopping growth, but the expert's decision in the criminal case did not confirm this. Meanwhile, the eco-inspection disagreed with this decision and personally issued an administrative protocol against Director Chuchmay, which was canceled by the decision of the Zavodskoy court.

- Maybe they have nothing to do, so they come and write something, we will appeal, said the director of KP, adding that he reported this situation to the Ministry of Ecology.

According to him, on January 7, 2025, the situation on Sobornaya Street almost repeated itself — "there was a case of unfounded obstruction of the enterprise's work by certain individuals."

- They could not explain on what basis, normative documents, current legislation, or anything else, the tree pruning works are illegal. It is unreasonable to obstruct workers who are restoring order in the city. Everyone suffers from these actions. The workers of the enterprise receive less salary — they stood idle, and the equipment was used ineffectively. And most importantly — we are losing time because every day of good weather could have been used for work. And by the end of the period allotted by the norms of current legislation, we will not be able to restore order on Sobornaya Street. We believe that the work is being carried out in accordance with the norms of current legislation and, most importantly, under the supervision of specialists who have not only theoretical knowledge but also experience in performing these tasks, assured the director of KP.

The head of the horticultural department of KP "Nikolaevskie Parki," Tatyana Skibitskaya, also explained how it was determined that branches were rotten and needed pruning, and to what extent. According to her, before starting work, each tree was inspected — reports were drawn up for each. All this was done while the green canopy was still present — it was then that dry branches were identified, and pruning schedules were established: after the leaves fell and before green buds appeared.

Dendrologist engineer of KP Elena Nedyelskaya showed photos of the pruned branches on slides — the presented images clearly indicated that the trees were unhealthy.

- This is a controversial topic. From below, we see that the tree looks beautiful, but its growth has slowed down. However, we cannot visually determine why. At the time of pruning, the specialist in the lift prunes and sees that the wood is damaged. We are also present on site. And he is forced to cut it back to the living part. Therefore, it seems that the tree looks beautiful externally, but a lot has been cut off. But this is a necessary measure to prevent the tree from dying, said Elena Nedyelskaya.

Additionally, she mentioned that the "live" cuts are treated with a specialized paste, which, when applied, envelops the wood in a thin film that allows air to pass through but not moisture — this helps the tree recover.

- Last Saturday, when there was some event on Sobornaya Street — in support of the plane trees, or something else, against the utility enterprise. I personally believe that this is… such a thing, you know, it has a different context. This is my personal opinion, commented Chuchmay on the collection of signatures from residents to ban the pruning of plane trees.

If the trees do die after pruning, then according to Dmitry Chuchmay, he, as the manager, and his specialists will bear responsibility. What this responsibility will entail will depend on the assessment of the damage.

On the morning of Wednesday, January 8, workers from the utility enterprise "Nikolaevskie Parki" once again began pruning trees on Sobornaya Street. Police officers, representatives from the State Ecological Inspection of the Southwestern District, and the director of KP Dmitry Chuchmay arrived at the scene. The police halted the tree pruning work.

In the Nikolaev Regional Council, a meeting of the permanent deputy commission "on environmental issues" was held regarding the scandalous pruning of plane trees on Sobornaya Street in Nikolaev. As a result of the meeting, the commission members decided to check the activities of KP "Nikolaevskie Parki" from all angles.