Environmental Court orders Oxiquim to remove tonnes of waste from Bosque Panul
The court ruled as a precautionary measure the total halt of Gelymar's operations — a subsidiary of Oxiquim — at Fundo El Panul, and the removal of at least 770 tonnes of sea sand spread throughout the forest.
This sand, besides desertifying Panul, is located in ravines and on hillsides, presenting a serious landslide risk for families living downstream.
The community defending Bosque Panul in the municipality of La Florida won a small victory.
This arose from the lawsuit filed by the Red Precordillera and the Environmental Law Clinic of Universidad Diego Portales before the Second Environmental Court of Santiago, due to the tonnes of sand dumped by the company Gelymar, a subsidiary of Oxiquim, at Fundo El Panul.
In this proceeding, in which a final ruling has yet to be issued, the environmental court ordered as a precautionary measure "the halt of all stockpiling or disposal of sand in said forest, as well as the urgent and total removal of such waste, given the risk of mobilization due to rainwater." (Read full ruling here)
Let us recall that the community is seeking to have Oxiquim enter the Environmental Impact Assessment System through its company Gelymar, which extracts algae from the center-south of the country, producing tonnes of waste that are spread in various locations, such as the precordillera of La Florida.
The court also certified during an on-site visit in April of this year that "there are at least 770 tonnes of sea sand spread throughout the forest," according to satellite images dating up to 2017 (meaning the actual figure could be higher), and that these "are deposited on ravines and sloping hillsides, constituting a landslide risk..., which represents an imminent risk given the proximity of the rainy season, and of homes downstream." (To view the on-site inspection record, here)
We celebrate the court's measure. This is an important step toward protecting the fragile ecosystem of Bosque Panul, putting an end to decades of contamination by its owners, and compelling them to remove all the industrial waste they illegally spread across ravines and hillsides. Polluting industries cannot continue to act with impunity.
Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera, May 2019.
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