Government concludes Buyat Bay polluted

Government concludes Buyat Bay polluted

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After long and exhaustive tests carried out by a number of local
and international teams, the government concluded on Wednesday
that Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, was indeed polluted and vowed to
hold the polluters responsible for the environmental crime.

Speaking after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said the
bay contained high levels of metals and chemicals, and the
government would file a law suit with the appropriate court.

"The recent verification of the government team's test results
has confirmed that the bay is contaminated with arsenic, but we
will leave it to the courts to determine the level of pollution
and who are responsible," Alwi told a press conference.

Also attending the conference were State Minister of Research
and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman and State Minister of the
Environment Rachmat Witoelar.

A joint team of government officials, activists and police had
concluded earlier through laboratory tests that the bay was
indeed polluted with excessive levels of arsenic and mercury.

The people of Buyat have blamed the pollution on PT Newmont
Minahasa Raya, which is the only mining firm operating in the
area and which has been dumping its tailings into the bay since
1996.

The team's test results were taken to the research and
technology office to be verified, and were confirmed to be
accurate in indicating that the bay was polluted.

The verified results show similarities to tests carried out
independently by the police.

Newmont has persistently refuted the allegation, saying that
the bay was not contaminated and that the metal levels were
within safety standards.

Rachmat said the government would pursue legal recourse
against the mining firm if evidence arose that pointed to the
firm's involvement in the pollution.

"I suppose the levels of arsenic and mercury are not that
much higher than the standard, but the people there are suffering
ailments because of the pollution," he said.

He added that the government would charge those responsible
for the crime under Law No. 23/1997 on environmental management.

Violations of the law, especially those that cause death, are
subject to a maximum 15-year sentence and a maximum Rp 750
million (US$84,270) fine. The law also allows the confiscation of
any profit gained by the guilty party through the violations.

Also on Wednesday, lawmakers from the House of Representatives
Commission VIII for environmental, science and technology affairs
said the government should take into account the roles of
previous administrations that should have monitored Newmont's
operations and their environmental impact.

The legislators, who held a hearing with the joint team to
review its test results, said the police should question
ministers and officials who had a role in granting the company
permission to operate and in monitoring the company's management
of tailings.

The police have detained six Newmont executives and recently
submitted their case files to the North Sulawesi Prosecutor's
Office.

Contacted separately, Newmont lawyer Luhut M. Pangaribuan said
the firm would respect and act in accordance with the legal
procedures taken against them.

"It's a problem of two different opinions, which brings us to
the question of the methodology used. We stick to our statement
that the metals in the bay's water and fish are within the safety
levels and are therefore fit for consumption," Luhut said.

He deplored the refusal of police to listen to facts and
statements from experts put forth by Newmont, and said the police
were being subjective and fanatic about their own pollution
claim.