City officials let off gas over fuel pump woes

City officials let off gas over fuel pump woes

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A meeting on Tuesday to address complaints from residents over
environmental problems created by three gas stations in the city
degenerated into a forum for officials from different state
agencies to sling mud at each other.

The meeting was attended by officials from the city
Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD)'s environmental impact
analysis division, the West Jakarta municipality and state oil
and gas firm Pertamina.

It was supposed to find a solution to the environmental
problems caused by the three gas stations -- one on Jl. Tomang
Raya, West Jakarta, and the other two on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in
the vicinity of Taman Mataram, South Jakarta.

Also present were the protesting residents and representatives
from the gas stations.

However, the officials denied all responsibility for the
problems experienced by residents resulting from the gas station
on Jl. Tomang Raya.

"We need to know when the fuel station was constructed, and
whether it met the environmental impact analysis requirements,"
said Ridwan Panjaitan, who heads the BPLHD's environmental impact
analysis division.

Local residents had complained to Ridwan's office over traffic
jams on Jl. Tomang Raya, and blamed them on the gas station
located there.

Ridwan also questioned whether the Tomang gas station
management had complied with the environmental impact analysis
required under city regulations.

Curiously, however, the owner of the Tomang gas station, Didit
Salmon, said it had opened six months ago after she obtained a
permit from a joint team consisting of the representatives of
several city agencies, including the BPLHD.

An official from Pertamina, Sukanda, blasted the
administration's lack of coordination in the issuance of new
permits for gas stations.

"The city administration should not issue a new permit unless
the gas station owner fulfills his obligations as required by the
environmental impact analysis," he said.

Also curious, for despite the fact that it is Pertamina that
supplies fuel to the gas station and is supposed to know all the
technical details concerning it, the state oil and gas company
failed to ascertain whether or not the station was equipped to
monitor leakage from its fuel storage tanks.

"We have not yet visited the station in question. Can you tell
us how many sumps you have constructed to monitor leaks from your
fuel storage tanks?" another Pertamina official asked Didit
during the meeting.

Not to outdone, an official from the West Jakarta municipality
also denied any responsibility for the problems resulting from
the operation of the gas station.

"We have not received any reports on the operation of the gas
station in question. That's why we can't make any recommendations
to its management regarding possible environmental problems,"
said the official.

Regarding similar environmental problems blamed on the two gas
stations at Taman Mataram, the meeting did not make much headway
as the owners failed to show up, sending their employees instead.

The two stations have been accused of polluting ground water
in surrounding areas through leakage from their fuel storage
tanks.

It is a common belief among Jakartans that the authorities
ignore environmental issues when issuing operating permits for
gas stations.

The BPLHD has reported that some 226 out of the 241 gas
stations across the city fail to meet the requirements set in
their environmental impact analyses.

At least 32 of these fuel stations operate in what should be
green spaces reserved for serving as the capital's lungs and
water catchment areas.

However, no legal action has ever been taken against the
owners of the gas stations, or the officials who failed to abide
by the regulations when issuing permits.

It is widely believed that the administration is reluctant to
take firm action against them as many generals and senior state
officials or their relatives.