Activists urge probe into Musi River pollution

Bahrul Ilmi Yakub, The Jakarta Post, Palembang

Environmental activists have called for a transparent investigation into the pollution on Musi River in Palembang that has allegedly originated from a factory on the river's banks owned by state-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Pusri.

Budiman Kertopati, chairman of the local office of the Environmental Forum (Walhi), and Taufik Anwar, chairman of the South Sumatra Industrial Monitoring Forum (Forsip), both called on Wednesday for an objective and transparent enquiry into the pollution, in the light of the failure of the local Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) office to publicize the results of an earlier investigation that it had co-ordinated.

"I won't accuse Bapedalda of having colluded with PT Pusri but it is better for all sides to conduct an independent and objective investigation into the case," said Kertopati.

Walhi quit a monitoring team set up by the Palembang mayor last October, saying it lacked objectivity and honesty in conducting its examination of the case.

An alliance of nongovernmental organizations accused PT Pusri of polluting the Musi when thousands of fish were found dead in the river last March and numerous people living on the river's banks reported suffering from skin diseases beginning last August. Pusri, which operates its own waste water plant, has admitted to polluting the river on two occasions this year, following leakages from a pipe connecting the factory with its waste water plant.

Bapedalda says PT Pusri is no longer polluting the waterway, since the company has repaired the leaking pipe and is treating its waste water before pumping it into the river.

However, it declined to unveil the results of its analysis of the waste water.

According to Kertopati, the reason Bapedalda has found no pollution is that it has not taken its water samples at times when the factory has been pumping waste water into the river.

"We are of the opinion that Bapedalda was not serious in carrying out the investigation, " he said.

Taufik said he had learned from reliable sources that Bapedalda had not been honest in presenting the results of its investigation.

"Bapedalda produced two different reports. The one delivered to the city administration shows the river pollution is being caused by the fertilizer company's waste water while the other one released to the public says the company has treated its waste water in accordance with the law," he said.

M. Yansuri, deputy chairman of the city legislative council's Commission E on environment and social affairs, said the Bapedalda report was not objective because it had used PT Pusri's laboratory facilities to examine the company's waste water.

"We will raise the pollution case in the next hearing with the Palembang mayor and Bapedalda," he said.

Jafar Abdullah, head of PT Pusri's environmental division, hailed Bapedalda's examination of the factory's waste water. He said that his company had already conducted repair work to rectify the waste leakages.

"And now, the waste water dumped by the company into the river is safe and in accordance with the standards set by the government," he said, adding his company would support an objective investigation into the pollution.