Another small victory for Bosque Panul: industrial waste removal will follow the community's plan
After the Second Environmental Court ruled in favor of Panul and ordered the immediate removal of waste that the Navarrete Rolando family (OXIQUIM) had been dumping for decades, the Superintendency of the Environment accepted the plan developed by the community, which will require the owners of Fundo Panul to remove 3,500 tonnes of sand using small machinery and/or manually, only along the trails designated by the community for this purpose. They will not be allowed to use heavy machinery such as excavators, nor to operate anywhere they choose, as the Navarrete family had intended.
For decades, the owners of Fundo Panul (the Navarrete Rolando family, OXIQUIM) contaminated Bosque Panul with tonnes of waste from their industry "Gelymar." The community reported the contamination, and the Second Environmental Court of Santiago sided with them: it ordered the immediate removal of this waste, given the significant ecological value of Panul, even though the property is privately owned, and the forest has no official protection. It also ordered an investigation of the company, as it may be acting against environmental law by polluting elsewhere.
The court left everything in the hands of the Superintendency of the Environment (SMA). The Navarrete family submitted a Plan that disregarded the forest, stating they would remove their waste (more than 2,000 cubic meters or 3,500 tonnes) using heavy machinery and excavators anywhere on the property, which would further damage the fragile ecosystem where the waste is located (there are several tonnes in ravines and forested slopes).
The community, anticipating the Navarrete Rolando family's limited environmental conscience, submitted its own Plan, developed together with the Association of Forest Engineers for Native Forests (AIFBN), to remove this waste without unnecessarily damaging the forest.
The Superintendency of the Environment (the agency overseeing the process), to our great surprise, incorporated the community's Plan, ordering the absence of excavators — replacing them with small bobcat-style loaders that may only operate on the trails designated for this purpose as specified by the community. For all other areas, or where the soil is fragile, everything must be removed manually — that is, with shovels and wheelbarrows.
The Municipality of La Florida and Rodolfo Carter have remained completely on the sidelines of this small victory, true to their decision not to protect Bosque Panul or the precordillera of the municipality.
The community takes an important step toward cleaning the forest of this contamination, and will remain vigilant, monitoring to ensure that operations do not damage the environment and comply with what was ordered by the Environmental Court and the SMA.
Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera. July 10, 2020
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